Xerox Square Sold for $40 Million

The Xerox tower, perhaps Rochester’s iconic office building, will remain in local hands, as city-based Buckingham Properties and another local investor closed on a deal with the company to buy Xerox Square for $40 million.

The closing on the property, which has been on the market since 2009, occurred at the offices of Harter Secrest & Emery in the Bausch + Lomb building. Under the deal, Xerox Corp. will remain in the building as its tenant for at least eight years, Buckingham Properties CEO Larry Glazer said Friday. “My hope is that Xerox remains there for a long, long time,” Glazer said. “Nothing is forever but we want them to stay in Rochester.” Glazer would not release the terms of the lease. Xerox Square is the 2.7-acre downtown property that includes the 30-story tower, the adjacent four-story auditorium, a two-story annex and an underground parking garage.

About 1,400 Xerox employees work in the tower. As to its pursuit of a sales/leaseback deal, Xerox officials have said that they wish to focus on their core businesses and to invest less in real estate.

“Today, we completed the sale of Xerox Square to a newly created company, 100 S. Clinton LLC, affiliated with Buckingham Properties of Rochester,” Xerox spokesman Bill McKee said Friday. “As part of the arrangement we have agreed to lease the entire Xerox Square facility for eight years with the option to renew. Xerox people should expect no changes to their work location as the result of the sale.”

Glazer would not reveal the name of the other local investor comprising 100 S. Clinton LLC. Rochester Mayor Thomas Richards said the sale to Buckingham Properties contributes to the city’s transformation. Buckingham Properties is involved in several downtown commercial real estate projects, including the $55 million reconstruction of the Midtown Tower on the site of the former Midtown Plaza. The company is also the developer behind the rehabilitation of the former Genesee Hospital site and other buildings on Alexander Street in the city.

“We’re believers in downtown Rochester,” Glazer said. “That’s the reason we’re doing Midtown. We don’t have any tenants yet but we believe they will come.”

The Xerox tower, the city’s tallest building, was built in 1965 and since its construction has been one of the most identifiable buildings in Rochester. Xerox moved its headquarters to Connecticut in 1969 but kept a sizable workforce and manufacturing facilities in the Rochester area.

The company has sold some of its local holdings before, including property in Henrietta and the Xerox Recreation Center, which was purchased by the town of Webster.