Crain's New York - February 25, 2013 - (Page 25)

REAL ESTATE DEALS Leumi becomes an elevator bank B ank Leumi USA, a subsidiary of Israeli banker Leumi Group, has inked a 20-year lease for 60,000 square feet at 579 Fifth Ave. The caveat is that the space is spread over five floors in the building, located on the corner of East 47th Street. The bank will occupy the second, third, fifth, sixth and seventh floors in a building with asking rents in the $60s per square foot. The bank has had a branch on the ground floor of the building for years. The layout upstairs is unusual given that tenants of Bank Leumi’s size often seek space where they can be located on one or two floors for efficiency reasons. A source said the bank has separate units that don’t require the type of integration that might have normally prompted the tenant to look elsewhere. And then there was a big plus to the transaction. “Bank Leumi will receive exterior signage in the deal,” said Joan Meixner, a broker at CBRE who represented the tenant. “It offered the chance to brand the building with their identity.” The landlord, Axl Stawski, recently spent millions of dollars renovating the 150,000-square-foot building, such as polishing its white-brick façade, upgrading the lobby and adding large glass panes to the retail space. The improvements were part of the draw for Bank Leumi, which will be relocating from the Graybar Building on Lexington Avenue. Bank Leumi was represented by Brian Gell of CBRE.A CBRE team led by Sam Seiler, Stephen Kenneth Eynon and Edward Goldman represented Mr. Stawski in the deal. — daniel geiger Digital firm hearts Times Square Videology Inc., a digital advertising company, signed a 10-year lease for 16,000 square feet at 1500 Broadway, in the heart of Times Square. The deal proves once again that not all fast-growing tech companies are fixated on midtown south. “It didn’t even enter their mind,” said Jim Wenk, a broker at Jones Lang LaSalle who represented Videology in the deal. Instead, the Baltimore-based company wanted to stay put in a location near Penn Station, where executives at the firm often ferry to and from its Maryland headquarters on Amtrak. The space is also close to major Videology clients like Starcom MediaVest, which is at 1675 Broadway, and Mindshare, at 498 Seventh Ave. Videology currently sublets 5,000 square feet from financial advisory firm Duff & Phelps at 1500 Broadway. With that deal set to expire in May, the company agreed to take the 33-story building’s entire fourth floor in a lease directly with landlord Tamares Real Estate Holdings. Rent in the deal was in the mid-$50s per square foot. “They liked the building and the location,so they wanted to stay put,” Mr. Wenk said. “The landlord also sweetened the deal by agreeing to BARE BONES 162-10 JAMAICA AVE., QUEENS ASKING RENT; TERM: $25 per square foot; six years SQUARE FEET: 32,000 TENANT; REP: Fedcap Rehabilitation Services; William O’Brien of M.C. O’Brien Inc. LANDLORD; REP: Gertz Plaza Acquisitions 2; Roy Chipkin of CBRE Group Inc. BACK STORY: The jobplacement, counseling service and employmentsupport provider will take space on the fourth floor of the building in the first quarter of this year. 960 SIXTH AVE. 44 W. 18TH ST. ASKING RENT; TERM: Long-term lease; undisclosed ASKING RENT; TERM: $44 per square foot; five years SQUARE FEET: 11,000 SQUARE FEET: 6,100 TENANT; REP: BankUnited; Kim Mogull of Mogull Realty TENANT; REP: Taboola Inc.; Jared Freede of CBRE Group Inc. LANDLORD; REP: Hidrock Realty; in-house representation by Robert Kaplan LANDLORD; REP: Forty Four Eighteen Associates; James Buslik of Adams & Co. BACK STORY: The Florida-based bank will open its New York City flagship in Herald Square, one of three branch locations set to open in the city in March. BACK STORY: The content distribution and monetization platform will use the Flatiron space to house its general and executive offices, according to The Commercial Observer. fund a very nice build-out of their new office space.” Paul Amrich of CBRE Group represented Tamares in the transaction. — daniel geiger SMALL BUSINESS Old firm sees new demand after hurricane Post-Sandy rebuilding projects spark sales for 75-year-old Steel Electric Products BY BILL GLOVIN D eep inside buildings like 1 World Trade Center, power flows to every floor through electrical wires threaded through giant conduit pipes, connected by zinc-plated cable fittings. By selling unglamorous, hidden necessities such as these conduits and connectors, Howard Feldsher, 67, generates sales in the $22 million to $30 million range at Steel Electric Products, or SEPCO. The profitable Brooklyn-based manufacturer sells its wares to distributors for use by electrical contractors. Besides the World Trade Center, its fittings have been used at projects such as the Hudson rail yards. Recently, the rebuilding projects that followed Hurricane Sandy have increased the demand for SEPCO’s fittings, and the company reports that sales of these items are on the uptick. “Lately, we’re ordering two to three times the usual number,” said Mr.Feldsher, who explains that 80% to 90% of all fittings are made in China and India. Founded as a stamping operation in a small garage on 19th Street in Brooklyn in 1938 and incorporated in 1952, SEPCO eventually expanded from creating products like straps 2012 REVENUE that held pipes for wiring device to the wall into manufacturing fittings. Phil industry (including electrical Reddock, Mr. conduits and conduit Feldsher’s new fittings) father-in-law in 1976, invited him to learn the SHRINKAGE OF business. Today, INDUSTRY from Mr. Feldsher’s 2007 to 2012 son, Ross, 30, is the fourth generation to work PROJECTED in the business, GROWTH of which celebratindustry from ed its 75th year 2012 to 2017 in January. Ross Source: IBISWorld started helping out in the warehouse part-time in the summer when he was 12. As president of the firm, Mr. Feldsher has been forced to outmaneuver challenges like the slowdown in the construction industry during the recession. Growing the tiny firm has often meant going head-to- $12B -3.7% +2.7% head with giant competitors, including four New York Stock Exchange companies, to win business. To that end, Mr. Feldsher has tried to pass along an “old-school, hug-over-handshake” approach to Ross, who is vice president of operations of the 13-employee firm. “By the way, have you heard the one about the priest, minister and rabbi who walk into a bar?” he began during a recent tour for a visitor. Mr. Feldsher also makes an aggressive, ongoing effort to keep the supplies customers need in stock— something rivals don’t always do. “Since the banking crisis, the big boys tend to operate with fewer employees and inventory, which gives us a leg up,” he said. He also tries to turn the company’s small size to its advantage by pulling out all the stops to offer same-day deliveries. “Our policy is we have no policy,” said Mr. Feldsher.“Any employee, including Ross and myself, may be asked to do any task at any given time. Smallness allows for flexibility, nimbleness.” Ross, who earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Baruch College, has modernized the firm’s computer operations and marketing efforts, and upgraded SEPCO’s bible: a recently redesigned 145-page color-coded catalog, which contains a listing of about 2,000 items it sells FAMILY AFFAIR: Howard Feldsher runs Steel Electric with his son, Ross. in 10 categories. The old one was black and white. The company has recently expanded into new products. In addition to SEPCO’s offices, located under a subway trestle on the edge of the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn at 121 New Utrecht Ave., the company has 30,000 square feet of immaculately clean warehouse space. On a walk-through, the Feldshers showed off SEPCO’s recent six-figure investment: moguls, which are specialized fittings needed to run heavy-duty wiring through buildings. Branching out has not been a small undertaking. The moguls (some weighing as much as 70 pounds) need approval by the Underwriters Laboratory, a safety consulting and certification firm, according to federal guidelines, but they also have to meet separate standards set by the New York City Department of Transportation. SEPCO expects to supply a considerable number needed to complete Manhattan’s Second Avenue Subway line. “There’s a high demand for this one product,” said Ross. “We saw an opportunity.” Ⅲ To sign up for Crain’s SMALL BUSINESS newsletter, go to www.crainsnewyork.com/smallbiz. February 25, 2013 | Crain’s New York Business | 25 http://www.crainsnewyork.com/smallbiz

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crain's New York - February 25, 2013

IN THE BOROUGHS
IN THE MARKETS
THE INSIDER
BUSINESS PEOPLE
OPINION
ALAIR TOWNSEND
GREG DAVID
REPORT: DIGITAL NY
THE LIST
CLASSIFIEDS
FOR THE RECORD
REAL ESTATE DEALS
SMALL BUSINESS
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
SOURCE LUNCH
OUT AND ABOUT
SNAPS

Crain's New York - February 25, 2013