One of Japan”™s largest banks, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., will bring what is expected to be hundreds of jobs to the White Plains Central Business District, where it has leased 101,000 square feet of office space at 1 N. Lexington Ave.
The multinational banking and financial services company, headquartered in Tokyo, inked a 13-year lease at the 18-story, 525,000-square-foot, Class A office tower known as Gateway One.
The deal, which closed last week after being for several months a common subject of talk among real estate brokers in Westchester, was announced May 25 by CBRE Group Inc. Sumitomo Mitsui will continue to maintain its U.S headquarters at 277 Park Ave. in midtown Manhattan, according to a CBRE spokesperson.
The Stamford-based CBRE team of Executive Vice President William V. Cuddy Jr. and Vice President Jacqueline Novotny represented the building ownership, Gateway One Group, in negotiations as the property”™s exclusive leasing agents.
A Jones Lang LaSalle brokerage team of Bill Peters, Derek Trulson, Robert Ageloff and Paul Tortora, from the firm”™s New York City and Stamford offices, represented Sumitomo Mitsui in the deal.
White Plains Mayor Thomas Roach in the lease announcement welcomed Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. to the city. “We”™ve worked hard to create an environment that”™s attractive to employers and residents alike and it”™s gratifying to see our efforts bear fruit,” he said. “The hundreds of jobs that SMBC will bring to the city will add to the vibrancy of our downtown and provide economic benefits to our downtown businesses.”
At CBRE, Novotny called the banking giant”™s lease, at a property only one block from the Metro-North train station and White Plains Transportation Center, “part of an early trend of the increased interest from New York City tenants coming into downtown White Plains looking for more reasonable rental rates. Tenants value the live, work and play environment and appreciate the advantage of the convenient commute to Manhattan.”
The deal also marked two decades for Cuddy as exclusive leasing agent at 1 N. Lexington Ave., which is 96 percent leased.
Headquarter staff at Grand Central. Get 100,000 square feet 35 minutes away White Plains for 1/3 the cost of Manhattan space. Very smart!