Lyft Signs Lease With Cove Property Group

NEW YORK, Feb. 25, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Cove Property Group ("Cove") announced today the signing of a 100,638 rentable square foot lease by Lyft, Inc at Hudson Commons, a 28-story creatively repositioned office tower located in Manhattan at 441 Ninth Avenue and 34^th Street. The building's location at the gateway of Hudson Yards and its immediate proximity to the ongoing redevelopment of the Moynihan transportation hub and Penn Station has made it an attractive destination for global brands such as Lyft and Peloton, Inc., which signed a 312,200 rentable square foot lease in November 2018. Now 63% pre-leased, the building will be delivered in the summer of 2019.

Cove, in partnership with the Baupost Group, purchased the property in December 2016 from Emblem Health. Since vacating the property in its entirety in April 2016, Cove has embarked on an ambitious repositioning aimed at capturing the imaginations of a wider tenant base that continues to be attracted to the Hudson Yards district.

"The neighborhood's transformation is exciting and ongoing. In surveying the surrounding developments, we saw an opportunity to respect the beautiful 1962 warehouse building's heritage and add significant square footage above it, rather than tear it down. The aim was to provide a combination of large and boutique floor plates ranging from 50,000 RSF to 16,000 RSF, that paired the factory type feel and aesthetic in the base with new, efficient construction," said Kevin Hoo, Managing Partner at Cove. "At Hudson Commons, each floor possesses an individuality created through the combination of size, layout or outdoor space that disrupts the traditional vertical rent/view/experience hierarchy of an office building."

To allow tenants to continue to attract and retain top new talent, Cove has created the workplace of the future with a strong emphasis on the user experience. Amit Patel, a partner at Cove, has overseen the implementation of new technology into Cove's properties, seeking to leverage best-in-class methodologies which will be WiredScore Platinum certified.

"The infusion of technology and the amenitization of the office environment is here to stay. Our tenants demand quicker response times and a mode of operation that mimics their living environments, whether it be through app-based zoned climate controls within their spaces, real time amenity/event reservations, seamless visitor management or even facial recognition technology at the turnstiles to expedite secured access to the building," said Mr. Patel.

The complexity of the redevelopment itself is also a significant feature and strength of Hudson Commons. Thomas Farrell, a partner at Cove, has an extensive track record of global development through his previous tenure at Tishman Speyer where he was a Senior Managing Director and Partner responsible for its global design and construction activities. There, he oversaw the development management and construction of global iconic towers and was involved in five similar overbuild projects.

"This is my sixth such project and we immediately identified unique aspects of the existing structure and its foundations which allowed us to essentially triple its height in an economical and efficient way." Mr. Farrell said. "Working with architect Kohn Pedersen Fox, our structural engineer WSP and CM Pavarini McGovern we came up with an elegant solution to insert a core for the new tower within the existing column grid so as to harmonize the new and old in a seamless manner for which we have already won awards for structural ingenuity." The combination of old and new has allowed the building to file for LEED Platinum certification in part because "there is nothing more sustainable than reusing an existing building."

With the signing of both the Peloton and Lyft leases, only 253,000 rentable square of office space remains available in the newly constructed tower floors that range from 16,000 to 23,000 rentable square feet and feature private terraces on nearly all the floors. With the exception of its Penthouse which features 28 foot ceiling heights and a private rooftop garden, each tower floor boasts 14 foot ceiling heights with highly efficient side core layouts and 360 degree views.

The team of Stephen Siegel, Evan Haskell, Paul Haskin, James Ackerson and Ben Joseph from CBRE are the exclusive office leasing agents for the property.

Steve Siegel, Chairman of Global Brokerage at CBRE added, "Hudson Commons is one of the most innovative development projects that we have been associated with. Cove and Baupost recognized the demand for both upgraded authentic and efficient space by the expanding technology tenant base along with the focus on high-end newly constructed space by the more traditional tenant. Their design and execution of Hudson Commons is an extraordinary accomplishment in that they have created a building that meets both of these demands. The leasing success it has earned to date coupled with the strong, ongoing interest puts paid to their vision. We are excited to continue on with the leasing of the tower floors which are all highly desirable new construction floors with panoramic views."

Hudson Commons has also commenced its retail leasing program which is offering 15,000 square feet of retail space at grade, along each of 34^th and 35^th Streets as well as 9^th Avenue. Featuring soaring 19 foot ceilings and beautiful mushroom capital columns from the original building, Cove aims to attract a broad mix of creative tenants that will activate the corridor and act as amenities to its tenant base. Winick's Steven Baker and Daniyel Cohen are the exclusive retail leasing agents.

Lyft was represented by Steven Rotter and Justin Haber at JLL.

ABOUT COVE PROPERTY GROUP 
Cove is a New York City-based owner, operator and developer of innovative institutional grade commercial real estate. Founded by Kevin Hoo, Tom Farrell and Amit Patel, Cove's team has a combined 50 years of ownership, asset management and respected development expertise.  Cove focuses on investment and redevelopment, as well as ground-up development, of key asset types including commercial office, retail, residential and industrial. For more information, please visit www.covepg.com.

ABOUT THE BAUPOST GROUP 
The Baupost Group, L.L.C. ("Baupost") is a Boston-based, value-oriented, open-mandate investment organization whose goal is to invest capital to achieve attractive, risk-adjusted returns over an extended period of time.  The firm is an experienced investor in a wide range of securities and asset classes, including real estate and private equity holdings.

ABOUT CBRE GROUP, INC. 
CBRE Group, Inc., a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Los Angeles is the world's largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (based on 2017 revenue). The company has more than 80,000 employees (excluding affiliates) and serves real estate investors and occupiers through approximately 450 offices (excluding affiliates) worldwide. CBRE offers a broad range of integrated services, including facilities, transaction and project management; property management; investment management; appraisal and valuation; property leasing; strategic consulting; property sales; mortgage services and development services. Please visit our website at www.cbre.com.

ABOUT WINICK REALTY GROUP 
Established in 1982, Winick Realty Group LLC is one of New York's prominent real estate firms specializing in retail leasing, investment sales and advisory services. Over the years, Winick Realty has served a broad range of domestic and global clients, with a strong emphasis on long-term representation and expansion and growth strategies. Winick Realty Group LLC is highly recognized as a forerunner in the retail real estate market. For more information, please visit the company website www.winick.com.

SOURCE Cove Property Group