– Leading financial institution joins Major League Baseball in redeveloped 1271 Avenue of the Americas
NEW YORK – June 13, 2017 – Rockefeller Group today announced the completion of a new lease with Mizuho Americas for approximately 148,000 square feet in 1271 Avenue of the Americas. This lease brings Rockefeller Group’s 12-month leasing total along Avenue of the Americas to more than 1 million square feet.
Mizuho Americas is a subsidiary of Mizuho Financial Group, one of the world’s leading financial institutions, with $1.8 trillion in assets globally. Mizuho will occupy the second and third floors, as well as below-grade space in the 2.1-million-square-foot tower, which is located on the west side of Sixth Avenue between 50th and 51st Streets in the center of midtown. In 2016, Rockefeller Group entered into a lease with Major League Baseball for more than 400,000 square feet in the building. Approximately 1.3 million square feet in the building’s tower floors remains available for lease, which is one of the largest blocks of contiguous office space in Manhattan.
“With the continued expansion of our corporate and investment banking franchise in the US and across the region during the last several years, strengthening our business and technology infrastructure to match our growing client footprint has become a critical necessity,” said John Buchanan, Head of Strategy, Mizuho Americas. “Establishing 1271 Avenue of the Americas as our new US headquarters will allow us to better serve clients by bringing together Mizuho employees from multiple office locations in one space, thereby increasing synergies, optimizing resources and enhancing our execution capabilities.”
“Mizuho is one of the most respected firms in finance and banking worldwide, and we are honored to welcome them to the new 1271 Avenue of the Americas,” said Ed Guiltinan, Senior Vice President and Head of Leasing in New York for Rockefeller Group. “The ongoing renovations to the building enable Rockefeller Group to provide modern, efficient, and highly-desirable space to tenants in one of the most accessible and amenity-rich locations in Manhattan. We are pleased that Mizuho in making their decision recognized the many benefits of being located in the new 1271 Avenue of the Americas.”
In 2016, Rockefeller Group started a $600 million redevelopment of 1271 designed by the architectural firm Pei Cobb Freed & Partners. Major elements of the project include replacement of the building’s glass curtain wall, allowing approximately 60 percent more daylight into the interior space and enhancing the views, as well as restoration of the building’s landmarked lobby, including its Copacabana-inspired floors, stainless-steel-covered elevator core, marble walls and artworks by Josef Albers and Fritz Glarner.
“The level of interest and activity we are getting for this modern, state of the art building in the heart of Midtown validates Rockefeller Group’s decision to commit to this dramatic renovation,” said John Maher, one of the members of the CBRE leasing team representing Rockefeller Group. “We are thrilled that yet another sophisticated tenant like Mizuho has decided to lease space with us.”
Over the past 12 months, Rockefeller Group has completed more than 1 million square feet of new leases and renewals at 1271 and nearby 1221 Avenue of the Americas, with companies spanning a wide array of industries including technology and media, finance, insurance, consulting and law. According to Mr. Guiltinan, the reinvestment in well-located assets has been a driving factor for companies making long-term location decisions today.
First completed in 1959, 1271 was originally designed by Harrison & Abromovitz & Harris, the architects for all of Rockefeller Center, and built by George A. Fuller Company, which was known for its construction of many other prominent New York buildings including the U.N. headquarters, Lever House and the Seagram Building. The building is within walking distance of Grand Central Station, Penn Station, the Port Authority Bus Terminal and more than a dozen subway lines.
The neighborhood’s amenities, within a five-block radius, include 10 parks, 10 museums, 65 hotels, 115 theaters and more than 400 restaurants and 2,000 retail stores. In-building amenities include well-known and established restaurants including Capital Grille, Ted’s Montana Grill and Le Pain Quotidien, as well as direct access to the B, D, F and M subway lines and the shops at Rockefeller Center.
Mizuho was represented by a Savills Studley team including Mitchell Steir, Matthew Barlow, Steve Berliner and David Goldstein. Building ownership was represented by a CBRE team including Mary Ann Tighe, Howard Fiddle, John Maher, Sarah Pontius, Evan Haskell and Dave Caperna, in coordination with an in-house Rockefeller Group leasing team including Ed Guiltinan, Jennifer Stein, Yoshinori Nakamura, Taku Tanikawa, Yoko Yamada and Eden Jeon.
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About Mizuho Americas
Mizuho Americas is a leading financial institution comprising several legal entities, which together offer clients corporate and investment banking, financing, securities, treasury services, asset management, research and more. With professionals in offices throughout the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Chile, Mizuho’s operations in the Americas connect a broad client base of major corporations, financial institutions and public sector groups to local markets and a vast global network. Learn more at mizuhoamericas.com
Mizuho Americas is an integral part of the Japan-based Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: MFG). Mizuho Financial Group is one of the largest financial institutions in the world, offering comprehensive financial and strategic services including private banking and venture capital through its subsidiaries. The group has over 900 offices and 56,000 employees worldwide in nearly 40 countries throughout the Americas, EMEA, and Asia. At the end of 2016, its total assets were $1.8 trillion. Learn more about Mizuho Financial Group at mizuho-fg.co.jp/english.
About Rockefeller Group
Rockefeller Group is a leading real estate developer, owner and investor, known since the development of Rockefeller Center for pioneering large-scale urban mixed-use development. For nearly nine decades the company has been trusted for its financial strength, stability and vision, and today remains committed to the selective acquisition, management and development of innovative, high-quality office, industrial, residential and mixed-use properties in urban centers and strategic distribution markets. The company combines the global perspective and market access of a sophisticated development and investment management platform, through its partnership with Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Estate Co. Ltd., and its strategic investments in independent property fund platforms in the United States and Europe. Visit RockefellerGroup.com.
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