Persistent Systems, a tactical communications company, has leased 55,000 s/f of office space in the Starrett Lehigh Building in West Chelsea.
Persistent was represented by Jordan Gosin, Josh Gosin, and John Cilmi Jr. of Newmark Knight Frank in the deal with Denise Rodriguez from RXR Reality.
Spanning an entire city block, the Starrett Lehigh Building is one of the largest in Manhattan and provides Persistent with enough room to grow over the next decade.
The new office space will increase Persistent’s existing New York City footprint with more than five times the production capacity; a state-of-the-art training facility;
Lab space for the radio, hardware, and software development testing; and RF screen rooms to support radio hardware testing.
“Persistent’s strategic growth plan involves expanding the organization from a $100M a year business to $1B over the next decade, and we require the space to grow our Engineering Team and Program Management Team and to significantly expand our production capacity,” said Dr. Herbert Rubens, Founder and CEO of Persistent.
Persistent is incorporating Green initiatives into the new office plan to create an environmentally friendly and sustainable footprint for its business operations.
The company will be eliminating disposable cups, straws, aluminum cans and coffee pods as well as implementing dimmable LED lighting and motion sensors to save power.
Construction materials are being sourced with minimum levels of recycled content and reclaimed wood is being used across much of the interior.
Persistent has also hired a vegetation consultant to bring plant life into the office. The planned 150-plus linear feet of planters will improve air quality and create a more pleasant work environment for employees.
“To build the best products, we need to be able to recruit and retain the best talent. So, we plan to create an office in which our employees will thrive,” Dr. Rubens added.
Construction on the new space begins immediately, with planned occupation in April 2020.
