August 8, 2008 by jack petrie.

The Office & Professional Employees Union, (“OPEIU”) Local AFL-CIO 153 recently renewed its lease at 80 Eighth Avenue a.k.a. 265 West 14^th Street for an additional ten (10) years. The union has continuously occupied the entire 6^th floor of this property for over fifty years. OPEIU was represented by Jack Petrie of CresaPartners in the lease negotiations.

About 80 Eighth Avenue

80 Eighth Avenue is 1920’s vintage Art Deco building with a detailed facade and ornate marble interior. The property is located on the Northeast corner of 14^th Street and Eighth Avenue, directly over the subway entrance to the A, C, E & L lines. Asking rents are currently $50 per rentable square foot (“rsf”). The building houses several other trade unions including Teamsters Joint Council 16, International Brotherhood Local 72 and Local Unions 858 & 1974.

Trendy Meatpacking Neighborhood

The neighborhood, known as the “Meatpacking” district, has seen rapidly rising rents and low vacancies over the last several years. In 2005, Google leased 300,000 rsf of office space at 111 Eighth Avenue, the former Port Authority Building, currently one of the premier data center locations in Manhattan. Google has also recently expanded its operations into 75 Ninth Avenue, The Chelsea Market, another destination property within the district.

Origins of the Professional Employees Union

In 1906 Local 1 in Indianapolis received the first clerical federal charter issued by the AFL (American Federation of Labor) representing a union for Stenographers, Typists, Bookkeepers and Assistants. However, not until the Wagner Act of 1935 did office worker organizing gain momentum. This critical legislation, which gave workers collective bargaining and organizing rights, propelled thousands of clerical employees into action. Dozens of clerical union charters were formed during this time. In 1936 Mollie Levitas presented the first resolution calling for an international union of office workers at the AFL convention in Tampa. Nine years later the AFL issued a charter to Office Employees International Union (OEIU), with 22,000 members strong, at a convention in Cincinnati.

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June 27, 2008 by jack petrie.

Online Ad Network Expands on West 31st Street

Collective Media LLC, an online advertising network and technology provider, has taken an additional 5,250 rentable square feet (”rsf”) on the 6th Floor at 254 West 31st Street. The expansion brings Collective’s total space in the building to 9,850 rsf, as it already occupies space on the 12th Floor. Michael Smith and Jack Petrie of CresaPartners represented the tenant in the lease negotiations.

Strategic Acquisition of Personifi

“Collective Media has been steadily growing and has recently made a strategic acquisition of Personifi, so they definitely needed to expand,” said Mike Smith, SVP of CresaPartners. “This space was ideal because it was in move-in condition, with furniture and phones and available immediately. The expansion space also enabled the tenant to remain in the same location, conveniently located directly across from Madison Square Garden and Penn Station.”

According to Jack Petrie, SVP of CresaPartners, “New York City is an excellent place for technology startups, like Collective Media, to recruit talent, and we have helped many of them locate offices that fit their business models, budgets and cultures.”

CresaPartners’ Technology Resume

In addition to Collective Media, CresaPartners has represented several venture capital-backed technology firms such as 3PAR, Acxiom, Buddy Media, Datran Media, Gorilla Nation, Light Reading and PixFusion. The firm has also worked with major tech behemoths such as Amazon.com, Electronic Arts, EMC, Interactive Corporation, Oracle and Symantec.

About Collective Media

Collective Media is a leading online advertising network specializing in audience targeting and optimization solutions to increase relevancy and yield for both publishers and advertisers, reaching 79 million unique users monthly. Collective offers the largest network of online news sites including The Associated Press, Gannett, Tribune, Belo Interactive, Hearst Newspapers and NBC Universal. Founded in 2005, Collective is privately held and headquartered in New York City. Investors include Greycroft Partners and iNovia Capital.

About 254 West 31st Street

254 West 31st Street is a 59,660 rsf building located directly south of Madison Square Garden between Seventh and Eighth Avenues. Tenants include TruisiSuk Architecture and Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding.

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June 24, 2008 by jack petrie.

Valuation Firm Moves to 44 Montgomery Street

American Appraisal, a large, independent valuation-related advisory services firm has relocated its San Francisco offices to 44 Montgomery Street. The firm’s offices were previously located at 595 Market Street, San Francisco.

Global Firm with Milwaukee Headquarters

American Appraisal, founded in 1896, has offices in fifty international cities including Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, Princeton and Washington, D.C. The firm is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Former Wells Fargo Headquarters

44 Montgomery is a 43-story, Class ‘A’ office tower consisting of 622,219 rentable square feet. Located in the downtown San Francisco Central Business District, 44 Montgomery was built in 1966-1967, completely renovated in 1992, and updated again in 1996. 44 Montgomery was originally the World Headquarters for Wells Fargo Bank and the tallest building west of the Mississippi when constructed.

44 Montgomery Street was represented in the negotiations by Erik Pentland of Seagate Properties. American Appraisal was represented by Jack Petrie and David Lambert of CresaPartners.

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June 24, 2008 by jack petrie.

The Other Real Estate Merger

CresaPartners, the nation’s leading corporate real estate advisory firm that exclusively represents tenants, and Horizon LLC, a solutions-based real estate consultancy, have joined together to provide strategic planning and facilities consulting to tenants in the New York region and nationwide.

Providing Clients a Competitive Advantage

Together, CresaPartners and Horizon form a best-in-class integrated services team, delivering comprehensive real estate solutions for the cost-conscious tenant. “Bringing our two teams together strengthens CresaPartners’ existing strategic planning and facilities consulting capabilities,” said Bill Goade, CEO of CresaPartners. “It also creates a significant competitive advantage for our current and future clients in a market that shows no signs of softening.”

Stellar Services and Client List

CresaPartners Integrated Services include: conducting pre-planning strategies and assessments; providing program management, project management and leadership support; strengthening tools, processes and methodologies; and delivering outsourced services and operations support. Keith Keppler and Kent Holliday, former principals of Horizon, will serve as principals of CresaPartners. Both have extensive national real estate consulting expertise and have worked with such prestigious companies as Genentech, AIG, GlaxoSmithKline and Amgen, to name a few.

Shared Client-Centric Values

“The ability to provide our national clients with a local presence was a key factor in our decision to join CresaPartners,” said Mr. Holliday. “CresaPartners is a natural fit for us because we share a common set of values, complementary service offerings and a client-centric culture.”

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June 24, 2008 by jack petrie.

$613 Million Industry Consolidation

With the recent announcement of the merger between Jones Lang LaSalle and The Staubach Company, CresaPartners becomes the largest North American, pure tenant advisory firm in terms of people and locations.

When asked what the impact will be in NYC on the market and the corporate tenant, I have been offering the following points:

• The JLL/Staubach merger is disadvantageous for the corporate real estate consumer because it means one less pure tenant advisory firm in the marketplace;
• The merger makes CresaPartners the tenant rep firm with the largest reach in North America. CresaPartners also has the most employees in the tenant representation model;
• This type of merger is not a surprise as consolidation has been a trend in the real estate industry for several years already;
• CresaPartners steadfastly believes in its partnership model and will remain independent despite industry trends;
• The merger provides CresaPartners with an excellent recruiting opportunity. We will be reaching out to and open to hiring experienced advisors who are committed to the pure tenant representation model.

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June 18, 2008 by jack petrie.

Square 1 Bank, a Durham, N.C.–based financial services firm, has recently signed a seven-year lease for office space at 424 Madison Avenue, NYC, 10017. The Madison Avenue location is Square 1 Bank’s tenth location, joining branches in Austin, TX; Boulder, CO; Durham, NC; East Palo Alto, Los Angeles and San Diego, CA; McLean, VA; Seattle, WA and Waltham, MA. Square 1 Bank was represented in the transaction by Jack Petrie of CresaPartners.

About Square 1 Bank

In 2004, CEO Richard Casey sat down at his kitchen table with a few of his closest associates for a little entrepreneurial discussion. This discussion turned into planning sessions, and those planning sessions set the stage for the Square 1 Bank dream to become reality. On August 8, 2005, with many long hours logged at that same kitchen table, the doors to the first six Square 1 Bank offices opened for business. A little over a year later in October 2006, Square 1 reached profitability and surpassed their client goal by 38%. Today, Square 1 Bank has four additional offices, has reached a billion dollars in assets, and accumulated $352 million in loans and $898 million in deposits.

About 424 Madison Avenue

424 Madison Avenue located between 48th and 49th Streets is a 75,000 square foot office building constructed in 1926. It is currently owned by BLDG Management Company, Inc. and is currently 97.4% leased. Major tenants include North Fork Bank and the World Gold Council.

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February 14, 2008 by jack petrie.

3PAR Inc., a Fremont, Calif.–based provider of utility storage, has recently signed a five-year lease for office space at 1 Whitehall Street, NYC, 10004. 3PAR was represented in the transaction by Kristian Hansen and Jack Petrie of CresaPartners.

About 3PAR

3PAR, which raised $105 million in its November, 2007 IPO, is relocating and expanding from its existing location in an executive suite on Wall Street. The company’s IPO sold 7.5 million common shares at $14 per share, for an initial market cap of approximately $840 million. It will trade on the NYSE Arca under ticker symbol PAR.

Previously, 3PAR had raised around $185 million in total VC funding since its 1999 inception, from firms like AllianceBernstein LP (f.k.a. Alliance Capital), Integral Capital Partners, Mayfield, Menlo Ventures, Open Field Capital, Van Wagoner Capital Management and Worldview Technology Partners

About 1 Whitehall Street

1 Whitehall Street located between Bridge and Stone Streets is a 300,000 square foot office building constructed in 1962. It has been continuously owned by Rudin Management Company and is currently 100% leased. Major tenants include the Topps Company, The Enterprise Foundation, St. Paul Travelers and International Shipholding Company.

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February 11, 2008 by jack petrie.

With the recently announced closing of the NYSIA (”New York Software Industry Association”) technology incubator

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080208/FREE/330958854/1064/newsletter01

and the rumored closing of a similar, university-based incubator; technology firms currently face increasing challenges in solving their office space requirements in New York City.

Firms from those that operate in a “virtual” mode to those in executive suite centers - have always had a need for flexible, shared office environments. With the demise of the larger incubators, this demand has surged while no sign of increased supply exists. We expect that the looming softness in the service economies may create future excess space capacity that may hit the sublease market, but for now supply is short.

Recently, CresaPartners has recently identified two opportunities that may be of interest to potential space sharers:

Downtown - Broadway & Wall Streets

A CresaPartners client in the technology sector, has asked us to market a portion of its space for sublease on a “shared” basis. The available space can range in size from 1 workstation up to 10 workstations, or from approximately 200-2,000 rsf. Furniture is available as are the use of a shared conference room and pantry.

Midtown – Sixth Avenue & 36^th Street (See Photo)

An accounting firm has asked us to market “shared” space within its offices near Penn Station. The available space consists of 1 private, corner office and four (4) workstations, or approximately 1,000 rsf. Furniture and phones are available as is use of a shared conference room, pantry and training room. A private bathroom is available.

If interested in either opportunity, please contact Jack Petrie at 212.389.2361 or jpetrie@cresapartners.com

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October 19, 2007 by jack petrie.

Facebook-application developer, Buddy Media, recently leased office space at 1841 Broadway, NYC. Buddy Media was represented by CresaPartners’ Kristian Hansen in the transaction. Buddy Media is the developer of Acebucks, the primary virtual currency application for the Facebook social-networking platform.

Acebucks will soon launch an API which will enable other Facebook developers to integrate the virtual currency into their applications. Additionally, Acebucks can be used to purchase virtual and physical items through the soon-to-be-launched Facebook store.

Living in a Virtual World

Many online games and virtual reality platforms already use virtual goods and currencies for participants. Examples include Second Life, Utherverse and Club Penguin, a virtual world for children which was recently acquired by Disney.

About Buddy Media

Buddy Media recently received $1.5 million in angel funding from a group that includes Facebook investor and board member Peter Thiel, best-known for his role in founding PayPal. Buddy Media’s other investors include Mark Pincus, a serial entrepreneur who runs a Facebook poker application, Howard Lindzon of Biltmore Ventures, James Altucher and Robert Ehrenberg.

CresaPartners hosts Facebook Developer Summit

In June of this year, CresaPartners hosted the first-ever NYC Facebook Developers Summit, organized to promote the opening of the Facebook platform to third-party development. More than eighty people attended, including Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. During the summit Zuckerberg mentioned the company’s projections of 100 million unique users within the next year.

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October 9, 2007 by jack petrie.

CresaPartners Named Silver Sponsor

CresaPartners has been named a silver sponsor of the 2007 AeA Technology Capital Conference, October 15^th-16^th, 2007 at The Island Hotel in Newport Beach, California.

Access to Investment Capital

The AeA Technology Capital Conference is designed to provide privately held technology companies an efficient vehicle to access key investment professionals in one location. The two-day conference will feature presentations from 25 companies with 2006 revenues between $5 million and $75 million that are seeking funding for growth, product roadmap ramp, M&A activities, strategic partnerships and other transactions.

Private Equity Keynote Speakers

Robert Grady, a managing director at The Carlyle Group, and Patrick Haden, a partner at private equity firm Riordan, Lewis & Haden (RLH), will deliver the morning and luncheon keynote addresses. “Attendees will gain indispensable insight as the legendary Robert Grady and Patrick Haden share their perspectives on what investors evaluate when deciding whether to fund a company. We look forward to welcoming them both to this signature AeA event,” said Peter Craig, chairman of the AeA Orange County Council and chairman, Valicore Technologies.

Grady serves as fund head for Carlyle’s U.S. venture and growth capital group. In addition, he coordinates Carlyle’s global venture and growth capital effort of more than $3 billion under management in eight funds. Grady is a member of the board of directors for seven Carlyle portfolio companies: AuthenTec, The Health Central Network, Ingenio, Panasas, Secure Elements, Verari Systems and USBX. He is a former director and chairman (2006-2007) of the National Venture Capital Association.

Haden, a general partner at RLH since 1987, invests in high-growth middle-market companies and has guided many of the firm’s portfolio companies from rapid growth through the public market process. Haden sits on the board of directors of four companies ranging in revenue size from $100 million to $1.3 billion, including Tetra Tech, Inc. and Bradshaw International Inc.

Additional Sponsors

In addition to CresaPartners; Rutan & Tucker is the Title Sponsor, Comerica Bank, First Columbus Investments, Merrill Lynch and Silicon Valley Bank have stepped up as Silver Sponsors. Moss Adams LLP is sponsoring the luncheon, while Barney & Barney is the reception sponsor. WunderMarx|PR Inc. is the public relations sponsor. For more information, visit http://www.aeanet.org/capitalconference.

About AeA

AeA, the nation’s largest technology trade association with 2,500 member companies representing all segments of the high-tech industry, is dedicated solely to helping our members’ top line and bottom line. We do this in partnership with our small, medium, and large member companies by lobbying governments at the state, federal, and international levels, providing access to capital and business opportunities, and offering select business services and networking programs. For more information, please visit http://www.aeanet.org/.

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