Repositioning nearly complete at 555 Madison.

In the world of New York commercial real estate, the first three criteria for determining a move of corporate headquarters are often the same: location, location, location.

At 555 Madison Avenue, location has always been a strong suit. Situated between 55th and 56th streets, this Madison Avenue property can certainly be described as four star prime New York commercial real estate. The building faces the new Sony headquarters and is diagonally across from the striking black granite headquarters recently sold by IBM. Talk about good neighbors!

In recent years, however, with the decline of rental rates and a glut of new office product, 555 Madison has had some difficulty keeping up with the Jones' so to speak. Steady tenancy and an uncertain market left little opportunity to undertake radical ch nges in the building. But that is all about to change. With the recent rebond of the real estate market and a dwindling supply of large blocks of space in prime locations, the 32-story, 422,000 square-foot property owned by the Rodney Comany N.Y., Inc. since its construction in 1961 is near completion of a multi-million dollar renovation which includes new elevator and air-conditioning systems, new, double story lobby/entrance area brought out to the property line, concierge desk, exernal signage and recladding, and a complete lobby re-design featuring re-surfaced French limestone and a water wall and high relief scupture designed by artist Robert Perless.

Actually, the renovation of 555 Madison Avenue has been over 2 years in the making. That's when Philip D. Restifo, executive director of Galbreath Riverbank, L.P. was first brought in as a consultant to evaluate the re-positioning of the Class fa property. Due to market conditions at the time, however, it was determined that the moment was not right to begin the renovation, but the Rodney Company proceeded with the development of the renovation plan and waited for the market to turn.

The moment arrived in August of 199f3, hen the ownership decided to give the work on the multi-million dollar renovation the go-ahead. Galbreath was appointed leasing consultant for the property in February of this year, a lesses began to expire and over 130,000 square feet of space, most of it contiguous, became available.

"The owners are renovating and updating the building to attract new tenants," Restifo said. "Concurrently, we will be working with our existing tenants to assist them with their expansion needs for the near and long term."

Current tenants at 555 Madison include Marine Midland, GH Capital, Banco Espirito Santo, LG Bank, American Landmark, Bernard Hodes Advertising, Titan Industrial Corp, Duane Reade and nearly two dozen other firms in the financial services, advertising, management consulting and communications fields.

In 1994, seven full floors of over 22,000 square feet each (floors 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 and 9) will be available, as well as three full tower floors of 5,500 square feet each, one intermediate ris floor and part of the seventh floor. Galbreath has begun extensive discussions with the tenant and brokerage communities and in June will launch an extensive new marketing campaign for the re-positioned property.

"There has been a lot of activity at this building," said Restifo. "1994 will be a sensational year, and we expect to lease more than half of the available space."

As for the current tenants, Restifo said they have been extremely cooperative and understanding during the nearly 10 months of renovation work. "People have been thrilled to know that the work that has been 'threatened' for so long is finally happening," he said.

"The market has long-awaited this renovation," said Restifo, adding, "Midtown's office market is rebounding and 555 Madison Avenue offers a competitively priced alternative for those companies seeking what every business is looking for - location, location, location."