Michael Frantz, director of Newmark Knight Frank and a 15-year veteran of the commercial real estate industry, is a familiar face to tenants and staff at 1359 Broadway. Since May of 2003, when W&H appointed Newmark Knight Frank as the property's managing and leasing agent, Mr. Frantz has worked closely with ownership to launch and implement a wide range of leasing initiatives designed to draw attention to the building's top-to-bottom transformation, excellent location and financial strength of ownership.

"The past three years have been both exciting and challenging," he says. "In 2003, 1359 Broadway was a blank canvas. It was an underperforming, run-of-the-mill garment building. We had to come up with a strategy to maximize the property's value and then execute it. The result is something truly special – today, 1359 Broadway is a fully renovated, state-of-the-art business facility with an improved credit tenant roster consistent with the goals of Ownership of its owners and agent."

Mr. Frantz has particularly enjoyed working on leases for large blocks of space, which were snapped up by such organizations as Li & Fung, a global trading group; I-Deal, a vertical service supplier to the securities industry; The Redeemer Presbyterian Church; Capital Mercury Apparel; and Keane, a business and IT services firm.

"A lot of thought went into making the property, the office spaces, and building services appropriate for these kinds of tenants," Mr. Frantz notes. "Ownership took full advantage of the flexibility of the floor plates to create full-floor and partial-floor units with efficient use of space and lots of natural light with new windows. These floor-by-floor renovations were augmented by a major overhaul of the lobby, corridors, elevators, restrooms, and HVAC and electrical systems. I'm just finishing another full floor deal with a major, national credit tenant now."

Newmark Knight Frank's role was to ensure that these changes were reflected in leasing activity, a mission that has been extremely successful. There's still work to be done, however, notes Mr. Frantz. "We have and will create more full floors and multi-tenant floors with pre-builts for lease. That's our long-term leasing plan."

The process of repositioning continues to fascinate Mr. Frantz, who has a B.A. in marketing from the University of Miami, Florida. "1359 Broadway has been a textbook case of maximizing the value of an asset, thanks to extensive financial commitment and ownership involvement. I look forward to helping this wonderful property reach its full potential."