Jones Lang LaSalle

Citco Fund Services Subleases 70,000 SF
By Eric Peterson
Last updated: February 22, 2006 08:23am

JERSEY CITY-Citco Fund Services has agreed to sublease a 70,000-sf block of space at Harborside Plaza 10 here for the next 15 years. The hedge fund administration firm will occupy the contiguous space on the class A building's sixth and seventh floors, housing 350 staffers on-site beginning in June.

Sublandlord American Financial Realty Trust took over the space, part of an eight-floor, 250,000-sf block, from Charles Schwab in 2004. Schwab itself had net-leased the space from original developer Mack-Cali Realty Corp. in 2002, but never occupied it.

"Plaza 10 provides the finishes and technology we need to comfortably grow our business," says Jay Peller, managing director of Citco Fund Services, whose company administers more than 1,700 funds totaling some $300 billion in assets. "It has convenient access to Manhattan, where we will retain our existing office space as we continue to expand our Hedge Fund Services Division."

AFR's brokerage team for the transaction was led by Frank Doyle of Jones Lang LaSalle, and included that firm's Cynthia Wasserberger, John Meisel, Tom Reilly, Sam Buckley and Jay Lapham. JLL took over the assignment to find tenants for AFR's Plaza 10 space in early 2005. Citco, meanwhile, was represented by Kenneth D. Rapp, Ramsey M. Feher, Scott A. Wilpon, Jon Herman and Richard Nocom of CB Richard Ellis.

"We are witnessing a high volume and diverse mix of financial services approaching us, looking for high-end space with new technology," says Michael Weil, vice president of sales and leasing for the Jenkintown, PA-based AFR. "The benefits of tax incentives, more affordable rents compared to New York City and access to Manhattan are making this a location of choice."
Of AFR's original sublease from Schwab, about 145,000 sf remains available and "is under negotiation with multiple parties," according to Weil. The Citco signing "demonstrates our ability to lease large blocks of space. It eliminates a significant vacancy from our portfolio."

The 19-story, 595,000-sf Harborside Plaza 10 was built by the Cranford-based Mack-Cali as part of its larger Harborside Financial Center on this city's waterfront. Mack-Cali sold it in late 2003 to the New York City-based iStar Financial Inc for $194 million ($336 per sf) and continues to manage the asset. other tenants under long-term leases include Instinet Corporate Holdings, Bank of Montreal, Mizuho Corporate Bank and Panepinto Properties.