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Reimagining and Reassuring

Brookfield Property Partners had an ambitious vision for 450 West 33rd Street, and clearly this 1969 Manhattan office building was ready for something new.

The global real estate company envisioned a $200 million renovation that would include a new glass facade, unobstructed floor-to-ceiling windows and enhanced superwide floor plates, a rarity in the city.

The adaptive reuse project was named 5 Manhattan West. It was a bold plan for an emerging neighborhood formerly known for its rail yards and factories.

Current tenants in the predevelopment structure included a diverse mix ranging from the Associated Press to the New York City Board of Elections and the Gay Men’s Health Crisis Center.

Whether it was a 24-hour news cycle, an impending election or heightened security measures, nearly all the tenants had very specific needs to remain open and running during construction with zero business disruption.

Brookfield, a defining force along the New York skyline and in major cities around the globe, is a long-standing Loeb & Loeb client. The company knew we’d be a perfect partner to navigate the myriad legal hurdles along the way with 5 Manhattan West and help in realizing the vision for this transformative project.

Our team negotiated nearly 750,000 square feet of new office leases at the building, bringing a number of sizable technology, advertising and media tenants attracted to the dynamic redesign.

As notable as these new leases were, the even greater feat was negotiating amendments to each of the existing leases to facilitate the building’s renovations while tenants were in place.

We had to understand and address the unique concerns and requirements of each business to ensure that individual needs would be satisfied and deadlines would be met regarding the building’s reconstruction and systems upgrade. Our attorneys worked down to the wire on Christmas Eve to negotiate and close access agreements with all tenants in order for Brookfield to keep construction on schedule.

Moral of the story: How do you renovate and relaunch a building while keeping current tenants happy and in business? You make Loeb & Loeb a key partner in the project.