Rudin breaks ground on Reuters HQ in Times Sq.

Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and Charles A. Gargano, chairman of the Empire State Development Corporation, representing Governor Pataki, joined Jack, Lewis and William Rudin, Thomas Glocer, president of Reuters America Inc., and Douglas Atkin, president of Instinet Corporation at a ground-breaking ceremony for 3 Times square, the site on which the Rudin/Reuters joint venture will construct a new U.S. headquarters for Reuters.

Adding to the dynamism overtaking Times square, The Reuters Building will provide an important link in the chain of communications companies that are transforming the "Crossroads of the World" into a media and entertainment hub.

The Reuters Building @ 3 Times square will be the Rudins' first newly constructed commercial development of the Nineties. The $360 million project will also be the first new commercial office building completed in New York City to usher in the new millennium. It is scheduled to open early in 2001.

Reuters and Instinet will consolidate 1,800 Manhattan-based staff from seven locations into 19 floors comprising 570.000 square feet. The building, designed by Fox & Fowle Architects, will also feature an electronic trading room and a television studio.

"The construction of this tower for Reuters in the new Times square will enhance New York City's position as the Media and Financial Capital of the World," Mayor Giuliani said. "I can think of no better place for Reuters' North American headquarters than in Times square at the Crossroads of the World. With Reuters' presence on the world's most exciting street, 42nd Street will continue to generate more economic activity and excitement for the many people that work, visit and live in our City. I would like to congratulate everyone involved in this important project, and I look forward to the opening of this new building in the new millennium."

In addition to serving as Reuters' U.S. headquarters, 3 Times square will offer for leasing 150,000 square feet of commercial space in the tower of the building and 80,000 square feet of retail space on four levels. All of this space will benefit from the state-of-the-art technological infrastructure that the Rudins have become known for delivering since the successful development of the New York Information Technology Center @ 55 Broad Street.

Both the commercial space and the retail space will have access to such amenities as 28 telecom entrances, a ventilation system providing above-standard air exchange, satellite access, redundant energy sources including five 1,750-kilowatt diesel-powered generators with room for an additional one, built-in space for expansion of telecommunications infrastructure and a carrier-neutral fiber optic telecom backbone.

"The Rudins' and Reuters' investment in 3 Times square proves that Governor Pataki's policies continue to encourage confidence and optimism in the future of our City and State," Chairman Gargano said. "Today's ground-breaking sends the clear message that New York's commercial real estate market continues to gain strength as we approach the 21st Century. This state-of-the-art office building will stand as a beacon welcoming the new millennium's media and information-based industries to the Crossroads of the World."

Thomas Glocer, president of Reuters America, said "We are very excited to break ground today on this landmark project for Reuters. The choice of 3 Times square as our headquarters for the Americas underscores our commitment to this market. We are pleased to be working with our partners, the Rudin family, to position Reuters for continued growth in this financial and media capital."

Douglas Atkin, president of Instinet Corporation, said "Instinet has grown into the world's largest agency brokerage in part because of our presence in New York, the center of global financial transactions. Our participation in this important project reflects a commitment to the presence of Instinet in the global capital markets, which we believe will continue to look to New York for leadership in the coming years.'

William C. Rudin said, "On behalf of my father Lewis and my uncle Jack, as well as the rest of the Rudin development team, we are thrilled to be on the cutting edge of developing the world's smartest building. As befitting the United States headquarters for the world's largest news and financial services company, The Reuters Building @ 3 Times square will set the standard for technological sophistication in office environments for the next millennium."

Bruce Fowle, FAIA, senior principal of Fox & Fowle Architects, said "The design of this building has truly evolved from its place at the Crossroads of the World. It is a harmonious blend of corporate dignity, commercial assertiveness, historic reference, urban contextualism and entertainment architecture. It promises to lift the spirits of all who experience it."

Started more than 70 years ago by Samuel Rudin and his brothers, the Rudin organization has grown to be one of the largest privately held real estate entities in the City of New York. In addition to 22 residential buildings comprising 3,500 dwelling units, the Rudins' portfolio, upon completion of the Reuters Building @ 3 Times Square, will contain more than 8 million square feet of commercial space.

The Rudins' revolutionary adaptive retrofitting of the former Drexel Burnham Lambert headquarters into the New York Information Technology Center thrust the company into worldwide prominence as the developers at the forefront of providing totally-wired work environments to tenants requiring global connectivity.

In collaboration with Reuters senior executives, David Turner and Glenn Elliott, and Tishman Real Estate Services Company (TRESCO) President Joseph J. Simone, Cushman & Wakefield, represented by Executive Director Bruce Mosler, and Insignia/ESG, represented by Executive Director Joseph Cabrera, co-brokered the deal that resulted in a partnership between Reuters and the Rudins to develop 3 Times square.

At the ground-breaking ceremony, President Daniel Tishman represented Tishman Construction Corporation, which is serving as construction manager for the building.

Instinet Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Reuters Group PLC, offers trading and research services worldwide, and through affiliates is a member of 17 exchanges in North America, Europe and Asia.

Reuters supplies the global financial markets and the news media with a wide range of information and news products, including real-time financial data, collective investment data, numerical, textual, historical and graphical data-bases, plus news, graphics, news video and news pictures, reaching 457,000 users located in 57,200 organizations. Reuters designs and installs enterprise-wide information management and risk management systems for the financial markets, as well as providing equity and foreign exchange transaction systems. It extensively uses Internet technologies for wider distribution of information and news. The Group employed 16,699 staff in 215 cities in 91 countries as of June 30, 1998. Reuters is also the world's largest news and television agency, with 2,035 journalists, photographers and camera operators in 169 bureaus serving 163 countries.