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In the summer of 1994, Conde Nast approached its brokers at Edward S. Gordon Co. and asked them to participate in a project to assess its space needs for the next millennium.
"The turn of the century was important because a lot of their leases expired in the year 2000," says Mary Ann Tighe, executive managing director at ESG.
Although Conde Nast had six years to find new space, the parent company of Vogue, GQ and other magazines signed a deal this August. The company will become the anchor tenant at 4 Times Square, which should be ready for occupancy in 1998 and will be dubbed the Conde Nast Building.
Real estate a part of strategy
The phenomenon of companies searching for office space far in advance of lease expirations is no longer rare in New York commercial real estate circles. That's because tenants have become more sophisticated and now realize that real estate decisions affect the bottom line.
The extended searches are also a function of a stronger market, one in which larger firms may have difficulty finding adequate space. "The lead time for transactions of 50,000 square feet is 18 months to two years...