A specialty health care company this summer will relocate its corporate headquarters from suburban Maryland to the central business district in downtown White Plains, a move expected to bring 200 jobs to Westchester County.
Officials at Cushman & Wakefield Inc. last week said APS Healthcare Bethesda Inc. signed a long-term lease for 44,082 square feet at Westchester One, an 852,000-square-foot, class A office building at 44 South Broadway. The privately owned company will occupy one floor of the 21-story tower, the county”™s tallest office building. The furnished space formerly was occupied by Argent Mortgage Company L.L.C., the California-based subprime mortgage lender that closed operations in White Plains and vacated about 300,000 square feet at Westchester One a year ago in the subprime market collapse.
Based in Silver Spring, Md., APS also had considered locations in Madison, N.J., and in Maryland. To make the White Plains site competitive, the Westchester County Industrial Development Agency in February tentatively approved a lease agreement whereby the company will be exempt from an estimated $80,000 in sales taxes. APS officials have estimated their relocation costs at $1.65 million.
“We are very excited about the move,” said Dr. Jerry Vaccaro, president and chief operating officer of APS. “After an extensive site-selection process, our management team felt that Westchester One would provide the best facility for our rapidly growing organization.”
A Cushman & Wakefield director said APS will lease the downtown space at a lower cost than its former lease. Cushman & Wakefield, which last year launched an aggressive campaign to market Westchester One for headquarters or multitenant occupancy, represented both the tenant and landlord in the transaction negotiations.
Beacon Capital, a Boston-based investment firm, in 2006 purchased Westchester One for $181 million. The owner recently completed a $13 million capital-improvement program at the approximately 30-year-old office building, which included renovations to the lobby, rest rooms, cafeteria, elevator cabs, walkways, exterior landscape beautification and building improvements such as a new roof, cooling towers and a supplemental cooling system. Shuttle service to the White Plains Metro-North Railroad station was introduced and security was enhanced throughout the building and parking garages.
“Westchester One”™s downtown location, combined with its superb amenity package and new property renovations, offered APS Healthcare the best match of available options in the market,” said Josh Kuriloff, vice chairman of Cushman & Wakefield Inc. “Westchester One was also an ideal alternative to New York City, providing lower-cost space without compromising workplace amenities and commute advantages.”
More than 240,000 square feet have been leased at Westchester One since the marketing campaign began. There is currently more than 300,000 square feet of built and furnished space available. Gregory V. Frisoli, Cushman & Wakefield senior director, said brokers are in talks with “a number of tenants from varying industries with large space requirements.”
Other tenants at Westchester One include Disney Publishing Worldwide Inc., which recently relocated its headquarters there from Manhattan; Loews Corp., a diversified financial holding company; and the law firm of Cravath, Swaine and Moore.
Founded in 1992, APS Healthcare provides behavioral health care and care management services to about 1,000 commercial and public-sector clients in more than 20 states and in Puerto Rico. It has 1,300 employees and serves about 20 million health-care program members. Its annual payroll in Westchester County is projected at $18.2 million.
