August 2003
Feature Story: Westchester Office Market Sets Historic Record
Business Feature Story: Morgan Stanley Polishes Its New Harrison Home
Small Business Success Story: County Bus Stop Helps Start Up Ultra Sound School
Valuable Services for Westchester Businesses: Promoting Westchester at the Buick Classic
Marketing/Promotional Opportunity: Sponsor-a-Road Opportunities
 
Left: Andy Spano, County Executive.
Right: Sal Carrera, Director of Economic Development & Real Estate.
  
 


WESTCHESTER OFFICE MARKET SETS HISTORIC RECORD
Westchester’s office vacancy rate of 13.7% is the lowest in 15 years, according to a mid-year report by Insignia ESG Research Services. In 1998, Westchester’s vacancy rate was nearly 20%. So far this year, 21 businesses have signed office leases occupying almost 1 million square feet -- nearly 3% of the total market. Nineteen of the 21 deals were for under 30,000 square feet, showing the strength of small business. Major deals also played a large role with the expansion of Fuji Photo Film USA to Valhalla and the relocations of Morgan Stanley to Harrison and New York Life to Mt. Pleasant. These three deals will total nearly 4,000 jobs and 950,000 square feet. Recent published news reports have quoted office brokers as being bullish on the level of continued leasing activity.


New York Life's new building

 

    

MORGAN STANLEY POLISHES ITS NEW HARRISON HOME
Morgan Stanley’s plans to occupy 2000 Westchester Avenue will keep the address among the most prestigious office properties in the nation. Built in 1977 for Texaco Inc., this 107-acre property possesses a graceful 700,000-square-foot office building, 1,400 underground parking spaces, two tennis courts, a fitness center and jogging trail, a 300-seat auditorium, TV studio and several amenity stores. Morgan Stanley’s plans to spend nearly $400 million in renovations will be a significant economic investment of construction jobs and capital for the local Westchester economy. Fifteen hundred employees are expected to occupy the property after two years of renovations.
 

COUNTY BUS STOP HELPS START UP ULTRA SOUND SCHOOL
Ultra Sound Diagnostics School (USD) will be opening 18,000 square feet of classrooms at 333 Westchester Avenue in White Plains. The new location has, in part, been made possible by the flexibility of the Westchester County Bee Line bus system, which has agreed to extend its #12 bus route to pick up late-evening students bound for the White Plains train station. USD has a faculty staff of 32 who teach 400 students a year to be cardiovascular or ultra sound technicians. Ed Pabon, president of Ultra Sound, commented, “Ultra Sound is looking forward to operating in Westchester and appreciates the new bus route changes.” USD has also just been acquired by the Career Education Corporation.
 

PROMOTING WESTCHESTER AT THE BUICK CLASSIC
Despite some raindrops, the Westchester County Industrial Development Agency (WCIDA) was still able to promote Westchester County as a prime business location. The WCIDA co-hosted a hospitality tent that gave business and development decisionmakers a chance to catch a bite to eat and an earful about the advantages of Westchester as a business location. During the four-day event, more than 120 business leaders, real estate brokers and business site consultants enjoyed great golfing at the WCIDA’s 18th fairway hospitality tent.


SPONSOR-A-ROAD OPPORTUNITIES
Westchester County’s Sponsor-a-Road program allows business organizations an opportunity to achieve broad advertising exposure while providing a valuable community service. Sponsors pay an annual fee to support the cleaning and maintenance of one-mile sections of county roads while receiving prominent signage that displays the logo and name of the sponsoring organization to passing motorists. Many county roads have hundreds of thousands of riders. For information about sponsoring a road, please contact Terry Masterson in the Westchester County Economic Development Office at 914-995-2988 or tmm5@westchestergov.com.

ACCESSING RESOURCES FOR YOUR BUSINESS
Services and Incentives for Westchester Businesses
For information about tax benefits, business assistance programs, workforce and transportation services, low-cost energy and statistical data please visit http://economic.westchester.gov/home/ or contact Terry Masterson at 914-995-2988 or email tmm5@westchestergov.com.

 

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