Choyce closes 26,600 s/f lease for research firm

Real Estate Weekly,  Jan 2, 2008  

• E-mail
• Print
• Link

Choyce Peterson, Inc, a tenants' commercial real estate brokerage firm with offices in Stamford, CT, and White Plains, N.Y., has negotiated a new, 26,600 s/f lease for Market Data Retrieval, a D&B Company, at 6 Armstrong Road in Shelton, CT. Market Data Retrieval (MDR) will relocate its headquarters staff of 130 in early January from Forest Parkway in Shelton. Robert J. Hopper, vice president of Choyce Peterson, represented MDR in its search and lease negotiation.

"This is a great move, saving us 20-25% in our annual operating costs," said Fady Khairallah, president and general manager of MDR, the leading U.S. provider of marketing information and services for the education market.

"We continually expand the use of technology in our business--from our transactions and fulfillment, to communication with customers, to the products we sell. As a result, we've been able to streamline our space needs for housing hardware, fulfilling product and managing data, and at the same time, expand our team to focus on customer support and growth opportunities. Bob Hopper was able to quickly understand our specific requirements and translate that into an effective action plan. His experience and understanding of the local market and its players provided the intelligence we needed to identify the right location, terminate our existing lease and negotiate an excellent package," Mr. Khairallah remarked.

"When you are able to combine market knowledge with a creative strategy the results can be tremendous," Mr. Hopper observed. "Although Shelton was the preferred location, we began by identifying other viable sites in the region. Discussions with the current landlord enabled us to exit the lease early without penalty, enabling MDR to move into the new space as soon as it is ready. The new lease we negotiated includes an extended free rent period that will run well beyond the time required for renovations, and we have secured a long-term agreement at below market rates. Add the fixed rate renewal clause with expansion and termination rights, and the total package is an extraordinary one for MDR. The landlord is upgrading the site to provide required amenities, such as a work out facility and cafeteria service, and is finishing the space to the standards developed for D&B headquarters," Mr. Hopper said.

Mr. Hopper has previously represented D&B in leasing office space in Waltham, MA and Meriden, CT, and has also provided project management services to the company. Prior to joining Choyce Peterson in 2002, he had accumulated more than two decades of corporate real estate experience, and had served as Assistant Vice President Real Estate for Reuben H. Donnelley, a subsidiary of Dun & Bradstreet.

Tom Pajolek of CBRE, represented The Fusco Corporation in the negotiation.

COPYRIGHT 2008 Hagedorn Publication
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning