Ossining biotech to acquire Harrison building
An expanding biotech company in Ossining expects to relocate to a Platinum Mile office building in Harrison vacated more than a year ago by its sole tenant.
Histogenetics Inc., which performs DNA tissue-typing services for hospitals and blood stem-cell transplant centers worldwide, has signed a purchase contract for 104 Corporate Park Drive, a five-story, 118,000-square-foot building on the market since 2009. It was last occupied as headquarters of Malcolm Pirnie Inc., the environmental consulting firm that downsized and relocated to Westchester One at 44 S. Broadway in downtown White Plains.
The former property owner, an affiliate of AVR Realty in Yonkers, shed an approximately $7.6-million debt last year when it turned over the deed to mortgage lender Genworth Financial Inc., a Fortune 500 insurance company in Richmond, Va.
The move would be a significant expansion for Histogenetics, which currently leases about 30,000 square feet of space at 300 Executive Blvd. in Ossining.
The biotech company”™s chairman and founder, Soo Young Yang, in a phone interview with the Business Journal confirmed the pending deal. She said the company plans to occupy the entire building and expects to increase its current workforce of about 70 employees.
Yang, who developed a proprietary tissue-typing process with Dr. Nezih Cereb, co-founder and president of Histogenetics, said substantial work will be needed to convert the Harrison building to specialized office and research space.
William Cuddy, executive vice president at the Stamford, Conn., office of CB Richard Ellis, represents the building owner, a Genworth affiliate. Michael Rao, president of New York Commercial Realty Group in White Plains represents Histogenetics. Both brokers declined to comment on the pending sale.
Westchester County Economic Development Director Laurence Gottlieb said his office had not yet been contacted by Histogenetics about the planned move and expansion.
Bank takes over Taconic Corporate Park
The bank trustee for an investment pool has assumed ownership of Taconic Corporate Park in Yorktown Heights after the previous owner defaulted on a $14.5-million commercial mortgage-backed securitized loan.
Avoiding foreclosure, Taconic Corporate Park L.L.C., an affiliate of Gateside Corp. in Rye., deeded the 210,000-square-foot office and flex space complex to Bank of America, according to Westchester County land records. Records indicate the owner owed about $15.1 million on the property before the transaction.
Bank of America spokesman Sean Jamieson said the bank served as trustee for a pool of investors that hold the securitized paper on the mortgage debt. He said Bank of America has since resigned as trustee and no replacement has yet been named.
Norman Feinberg, founder and managing partner of Gateside Corp., did not return a phone call for comment.
Scott Benson, president of Benson Commercial Realty, the former leasing agent for Taconic Corporate Park, said negotiations between Gateside and Bank of America to reach a new mortgage deal apparently failed.
Tenants at the northern Westchester office park include Mercy College, which leases about 30,000 square feet at 2651 Strang Blvd.
Dobbs Ferry Rental Apartment Complex Sold
Osborn Manor, a 78-unit garden apartment complex at 300 Broadway in Dobbs Ferry, has been purchased for $11.7 million by a Rego Park-based partnership. Coolidge Osborn L.L.C., an affiliate of Houlihan Parnes Realtors L.L.C. in White Plains, was the seller in the all-cash transaction.
Built in 1953, the apartment complex overlooks the Hudson River on 9 1/2 acres. Â garage parking.
Brokers Sheldon Stahl and Fred Stahl of Houlihan Parnes represented the seller.
