October 25, 2006 by jack petrie.

CRESA Partners has negotiated a short-term lease providing PixFusion LLC with 7,400 rentable square feet (”rsf”) at 390 Park Avenue South in Manhattan. PixFusion, a provider of personalized video technology, is relocating from 535 West 34th Street and will occupy its new headquarters immediately.

Venture Capital Funded

PixFusion, which raised $4.2 million in venture capital funding earlier this year, needed additional space to grow, and the office they selected perfectly matched their short-term requirements. PixFusion LLC (http://www.pixfusion.com/), established in 2001 and based in New York City, creates personalized branded video products and services and uses its patented technology to automate the production of its finished products. PixFusion has proprietary content agreements and is continuing to expand its distribution networks to offer its personalized products direct to consumers and through retailers, manufacturers and other indirect channels.

Children’s Video Products Featuring Dora the Explorer & Arthur

The company has commercialized children video products through its Kideo brand (http://www.kideo.com/), a successful enterprise selling DVD videos to parents and grandparents of children ages one to seven. Kideo’s existing content is licensed from some of the most prominent and respected pre-school brands including Dora the Explorer and Arthur. In addition to its consumer entertainment division, PixFusion has also entered into several licenses of its proprietary intellectual property platform based on the strength of its long standing patent portfolio.

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October 19, 2006 by jack petrie.

Last month, after an extensive process conducted by our public relations firm, Richards/Gravelle (“R/G”), CRESA Partners introduced our new branding tagline – “We Listen”. The selection process consisted of several client and prospect interviews with regard to what they looked for in a real estate service provider and why they selected CRESA. Among the feedback that we received was that our professionals provide a much more consultative, advisory and relationship-based service than many of our competitors. So if you haven’t heard of us or don’t know much about CRESA, it might because we’ve been busy listening to our clients.

Crain’s New York Business Advertising Campaign

As part of R/G’s ongoing efforts, we will be running similar themes in an advertising campaign to appear in Crain’s New York Business commencing with the 10/9/06 issue. The tagline for the first advertisement reads “We help tenants find walls. Not feel like they’re talking to one.” This is a reference to our client-specific and solution-based advice and recommendations. Additionally, because we avoid the conflicts inherent in landlord representation, we do not have a hidden agenda to place a tenant in a specific property or with a client landlord.

The second advertisement reads, “Before we look at floor plans, we listen to your plans.” Here we are promoting our integrated brokerage services, which examine many of the strategic components and hidden cost centers in the commercial leasing process. Having the expertise of construction management, municipal incentives, capital markets and lease administration allow us to think strategically on behalf of and alongside our clients.

Please keep an eye out for our increased marketing efforts and as always, if you have something to share with us, feel free to speak up!

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October 18, 2006 by jack petrie.

The real estate sweet spot for the newly-funded and high growth technology firm is the 5,000-25,000 rentable square foot (“rsf”), move-in condition, $30/rsf, short-term sublease space in the Soho/Noho submarkets of Manhattan.

Unfortunately, there is currently not an abundant supply of this space. Additionally, there are three primary constraints to these submarkets: 1) rental rates in this region now exceed $40-45/rsf; 2) Landlords do not offer construction allowances or prebuilt spaces; 3) Typical buildings do not provide “full-services”, thus there are hidden costs above and beyond the rent: Annually compounded percent increases, cleaning charges, water/sprinkler fees, fuel escalations, security guard charges and even air conditioning units or service, to name several.

So, how does a growth firm align its real estate budget with these market realities?

Empire Zones Opportunities

One possibility is by considering a relocation into an Empire Zone (“EZ”). There is a newly created Lower East Side/Chinatown EZ that extends westward to Broadway between Chambers and Houston Streets. We are currently representing a 10,000 rsf technology firm that has received an EZ proposal offering a package of incentives in excess of $1.3 million, including EZ benefits and cash grants for job creation. The cash grant can be viewed as a $35.00 per rsf subsidy to offset tenant improvements and equipment purchases. Think of it as a tenant improvement allowance, only being offered by the state in the form of a cash grant. The balance of this incentive package (>$90/rsf) is a corporate income tax credit phased over five years. Think of this credit as an $18 per rsf per annum rental subsidy for the first five years of a leasehold.

I recently spoke to a prospect that expressed some skepticism at the potential of municipal incentives, particularly because corporate income taxes represent only a small percentage of revenues. We feel that is the wrong way to look at this. That’s equivalent to looking at an IRA contribution only for the tax deduction. If you look at the tax credits as an $18 offset against a $40-50 cost, especially when the budget is $30, that’s where municipal incentives become the compelling storyline.

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October 6, 2006 by jack petrie.

ADP Employer Services, a leading provider of outsourced payroll, benefits and HR services, recently announced the acquisition of the tax incentives business of Mintax, Inc. based in East Brunswick, New Jersey. Mintax is CRESA Partners’ municipal incentives services partner.

With a large team of tax and economic incentive specialists, a commitment to service excellence and a comprehensive suite of tax incentive solutions, Mintax has provided customized turnkey tax and economic incentives solutions to thousands of companies for more than 25 years. Mintax assists CRESA clients looking to take full advantage of the many tax credits and incentives that are available via federal, state and local programs and has assisted thousands of companies in the areas of State Tax Incentives and Credits, Economic Development Services, Location Advisory Services, Research and Development Incentives, Federal Hiring Credits, Sales and Use Incentives and Recoveries, Training Grant Programs, the Purchase and Sale of Tax Credits and NOL’s and State Specific Grant Programs.

“ADP is pleased to bring Mintax’s products and services into ADP’s line of integrated business solutions,” said Campbell Langdon, President, ADP Tax, Retirement and Pre-Employment Services. “The acquisition of Mintax’s tax incentives business will be exceptionally valuable to ADP payroll clients; however it will also be of significant value to those using other payroll solutions. These tax credit and economic incentive programs, supported by federal, state and local governments, can significantly reduce clients’ operating costs.” “This acquisition represents a significant win for our clients, as it will enable us to provide an increasingly broad portfolio of products and services backed by the world class service and resources of a financially strong Fortune 500 company,” said Phil Schepel, President, Mintax, Inc.

Mintax’s talent pool and strong presence in the Northeast United States complement ADP’s overall expertise and geographic reach. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NYSE: ADP), with nearly $9 billion in revenues and more than 570,000 clients worldwide, is one of the largest providers of a broad range of premier, mission-critical, cost-effective transaction processing and information-based business solutions.

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