The Leading Hotels of the World, Ltd., the largest luxury hospitality organization on the globe with more than 430 All Kinds of One-of-a-Kind member properties in over 80 countries, has signed a 42,842-square-foot, long-term lease at 485 Lexington Avenue for its new corporate headquarters, international commercial real estate services firm Studley announced today.

The Leading Hotels of the World, which counts such famed properties as New York City's The Pierre, Miami's The Setai and Las Vegas' Bellagio Towers among its members, will be relocating to a portion of the fourth floor of 485 Lexington Avenue from 99 Park Avenue, where it currently leases approximately 40,000 square feet. Occupancy is expected in mid-2012.

Although the offices are roughly the same size, The Leading Hotels of the World will be able to accommodate a 15 percent expansion of its workforce at 485 Lexington Avenue, thanks to a complete reconfiguration of the company's layout. Studley devised the new plan in conjunction with The Leading Hotels of the World's architect. Studley is also managing the build-out of the space.

Our client is adopting an open floorplan design with a creative variation on bench seating, glass partitions and fewer offices – a strategy that not only fosters communication and productivity, but also allows the client to expand its staff without leasing significantly more space, said Studley Executive Managing Director Daniel Horowitz, who negotiated the lease on behalf of The Leading Hotels of the World with Senior Managing Director Jeffrey Peck. By abandoning the traditional office layout, our client was able to avoid the expensive, 10,000-square-foot expansion it would have otherwise required."

Added Mr. Peck: With this transaction, Studley has shown that the open floorplan model that has become so popular amongst media and technology companies can be advantageous to more traditional tenants as well.

Theodore Teng, President and CEO of The Leading Hotels of the World, said: As a company that prides itself on offering the very best quality hospitality services to our clients, we see our own office space as an extension of The Leading Hotels of the World's All Kinds of One-of-a-Kind brand. We are thrilled to have the chance to build a new workplace culture in a more modern, collaborative space."

Also known as Grand Central Square, 485 Lexington Avenue is a 32-story Class A office building originally constructed in 1956 with a glass and steel facade. Located in the heart of Midtown Manhattan, steps from Grand Central Terminal, the building recently underwent a major capital improvement program, which won the 2008 BOMA Award for Renovated Building of the Year.

David Kaufman and David Amsterdam worked on the transaction in-house on behalf of SL Green Realty Corp.