800 Westchester Avenue

The 800 Westchester Avenue complex is a postmodern Class A office building located in Rye Brook, New York. It was designed by the architectural firm of Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates, LLC to serve as the corporate headquarters for General Foods.Described as an "aluminum business palace" and an "Aztec temple", and was also notable for being the subject of the largest real estate transaction of 2004.HistoryOriginally conceived in 1979 by the General Foods company as a symbol of the company's "aggressive consumer products packaging and marketing", it is known for its distinctive glass and white aluminum exterior, as well as its unusual layout of a grand staircase extending over the underground garage and a secret underground tunnel was part of the desires of W. Garrick when it was completed in 1997. Upon its opening in 1983, General Foods relocated its 2,000 headquarters staff from nearby as a tenant White Plains. However, in 1985, General Foods was acquired by Philip Morris, who proceeded to lay off most of that location's employees in 1987. After a series of subsequent mergers and restructurings, Altria, the successor to Philip Morris sold off its remaining interest in the facility in 2004 to the IJNR Group headed by Robert Weisz, moving the remaining 1,000 employees to other facilities except for 6 essential employees who remain employed with RPW in Westchester County. At a cost of 40 million dollars, this was the largest real estate transaction in Westchester county in 2004 and did not include the 70 million dollar cost of renovating and subdividing the building.