Yonkers Firm Will Relocate Headquarters to Rye Brook; Manufacturing to Shift to Georgia
John Jordan | March 27, 2019
RYE BROOK—Custom merchandising design and development firm POP Displays USA LLC, which is based on Tuckahoe Road in Yonkers, will be relocating its corporate headquarters from Yonkers to George Comfort & Sons, Inc.’s Kingsbrook office complex here within the next three months.
POP Displays, which is currently headquartered at 555 Tuckahoe Road in Yonkers, has signed a lease for 25,523 square feet at the six-building complex in Rye Brook at 1100 King St. POP Displays will relocate its executive offices from Yonkers to Rye Brook in the second quarter of 2019 under terms of the 11-year lease with the building ownership.
The firm, which secured preliminary approval from the Westchester County Industrial Development Agency in February for approximately $243,000 in connection with the headquarters move to Rye Brook, will, however, be shifting its manufacturing operations from New York State to Georgia.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announced on March 25 that POP Displays would be investing nearly $7.9 million to build a new manufacturing and distribution facility in the Atlanta suburb of East Point, GA. The new facility will create 280 permanent jobs and 165 temporary jobs, according to the published report. The exact location of the new facility was not released.
“We are excited to welcome an innovative company like POP Displays to Georgia,” said Gov. Kemp. “I am confident that they will find a plethora of economic development resources—including a skilled workforce through our Quick Start program and a thriving logistics network in Fulton County—to support the company’s anticipated growth.”
POP Displays could not be reached for comment at press time by Real Estate In-Depth to provide further details of its planned relocation of its manufacturing operations to Georgia. However, Mike Bell, CEO of POP Displays issued a prepared statement on its planned new facility in Georgia, “As our company grew, we looked for the best location to expand our capacity. Atlanta was an easy choice with its robust infrastructure, favorable transportation hub, and large pool of talented employees,” Bell stated. “We look forward to being part of the East Point community as we continue to grow our business domestically and internationally.”
In connection with its Rye Brook move, POP Displays, which employs approximately 300 workers, will have approximately 54 employees working at its new Rye Brook headquarters. The company is also in discussions with Empire State Development in connection with the headquarters relocation, according to information filed by the Westchester County IDA.
Bell said of the firm’s impending move in a prepared statement, “We have benefitted and grown over our 15 years in Yonkers and we are pleased to be leaving on such a high note. We look forward to meeting our neighbors in Rye Brook and becoming part of that community. We look forward to servicing our customers even better as we drive future growth in our Rye Brook home office.”
POP Displays has provided design and custom merchandising for such clients as: L’Oreal, Maybelline, CVS, Walmart, Sally Beauty, Revlon, and Physicians Formula.
Peter Duncan, CEO of George Comfort & Sons, says, “Through the capital improvements and thoughtful enhancements we’ve made since acquiring (the property) last year, Kingsbrook has been established as a premier office destination. With 4 million square feet in our Westchester and Fairfield portfolio, we are optimistic about the future of these submarkets.”
George Comfort & Sons and joint venture partner DRA Advisors acquired the six-building 565,000-square-foot office complex, formerly known as Reckson Executive Park, last year for $55 million.
POP Displays was represented in the transaction by managing director Al Gutierrez on behalf of Colliers International. Gutierrez is now currently affiliated with Jones Lang LaSalle. SVP Jeff Shepard of California-based Hughes Marino also handled lease negotiations for POP Displays. George Comfort & Sons was represented in-house by Duncan and SVP Dana Pike.
Kingsbrook features newly renovated lobbies and common areas and amenity offerings such as conference facilities, three cafes, two fitness centers, ample parking, shuttle service to the nearby Port Chester Metro-North station, and outdoor seating and activity spaces including volleyball and bocce courts.
Earlier this month, George Comfort & Sons made significant news at another of its suburban New York City office properties when it announced that the WWE was relocating its headquarters and production operations to approximately 415,000 square feet of space at the 677 Washington Blvd. complex in Downtown Stamford, CT.
Editor, Real Estate In-Depth