News
NEW LIFE AT 16 COURT
July 24, 2009
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| We then dropped by SL Green’s 330k-SF 16 Court Street, which at 36 stories is Brooklyn’s tallest commercial building. Creative Real Estate Group’s Chris Havens, who markets the building along with CB Richard Ellis’ Gary Kamenetsky, gave us the grand tour. It’s been undergoing $20M worth of renovations, he tells us, which includes a total lobby overhaul (above, the new building directory), elevator upgrades scheduled to finish in February, and renovations to the façade, which complete this month. |
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| The building has also been undergoing Brooklyn’s first office pre-built program, with space availabilities from 1.2k SF to 4K SF, many of which give smaller tenants opportunity to have their own private floors—a rarity in Downtown Brooklyn, he says. One 2.6k-SF pre-built on the 10th floor was recently leased to Educational Data Services, and there are eight leases out ready to be signed. Expect the 77% occupied building to be in the high 80s by fall, if not sooner, he says. Attorneys Bonina & Bonina just renewed a 7.9k-SF lease on the 18th floor. |
 Chris tells us that Downtown leasing activity is picking up again, especially with proximity to the courts, access to ten subway lines, and the highest density of people outside of Manhattan. (There’s 70 eateries, including the last Kosher takeout within 16 Court Street, and seven bank branches within a two-block radius of the building alone.) The submarket has been especially attractive to creative, legal, government, and unions, he says. Earlier this year, 16 Court saw two major leases: Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates’ 15-year, 12.2k-SF move from Union Square, and the Department of Citywide Administrative Services’ five year, 11k-SF renewal. |
