The Biggest New Office Leases Inked In NYC This Year
New York City is seeing a flurry of new office construction, with millions of square feet in new buildings and massive renovation projects hitting the market.
Tenants are demanding more than ever, chasing flashy amenities in new or transformed spaces. Add in growing presence from coworking companies and the record use of concessions, and landlords are under increasing pressure.
Still, there have been some significant office deals inked in New York City this year. Here is a look at the biggest new leases for 2018 so far, according to data provided by CBRE.
Pfizer Inc.
Location: 66 Hudson Blvd.
Size of lease: 800K SF
In the biggest new lease for the year so far, Pfizer officially signed up to be the anchor tenant at Tishman Speyer’s supertall at Hudson Yards.
The lease at the Bjarke Ingels-designed 66 Hudson Blvd. — dubbed the Spiral — is for 799,619 SF. The pharmaceutical giant is taking space on floors seven through 21 in the 65-story office tower, which is expected to take four years to build. Pfizer plans to move there in 2022, having reached a deal to sell its two-building headquarters on East 42nd Street for $360M earlier this year.
JPMorgan Chase
Location: 390 Madison Ave.
Size of lease: 415K SF
JPMorgan inked a deal to take 415,241 SF across 16 floors at the L&L Holding Co.-owned 390 Madison Ave., a transformed building that is set to open later this year. The building spans 850K SF and is totally leased, with the bank joining fellow tenants Shiseido Americas and law firm Hogan Lovells.
Latham & Watkins
Location: 1271 Sixth Ave.
Size of lease: 407K SF
Law firm Latham & Watkins is taking a 15-year lease at Rockefeller Group’s 1271 Sixth Ave., in what has been considered a major coup for the Midtown office market that has lost many companies to Manhattan's west. The deal for 406,661 SF across floors 25 to 34 means the law firm is joining Major League Baseball and Mizuho Americas in the building. The Midtown property has been undergoing a $600M renovation, and Latham is reportedly paying more than $90/SF for the space.
Discovery Channel
Location: 230 Park Ave. South
Size of lease: 363K SF
Discovery Channel is setting up its new headquarters in a 362,658 SF space at TF Cornerstone’s 230 Park Ave. South, where it will consolidate with Scripps, the cable network it acquired earlier in the year. The rents are said to be in the high $70s to low $80s per SF. The company had announced earlier in the year that it would be leaving its headquarters in Maryland, taking 1,300 workers out of the area and leaving vacant the 545K SF building it had occupied since 2003.
J. Crew Group
225 Liberty St.
325K SF
With Facebook taking over its space at 770 Broadway, J.Crew is setting up a new headquarters at 225 Liberty St. in a sublease from BNY Mellon. The retailer is taking 324,658 SF in the building, which is part of Brookfield Place. J. Crew will reportedly take the entirety of BNY Mellon's space, which is reportedly leased up until 2034.
WeWork
Location: 500 Seventh Ave.
Size of lease: 256K SF
Coworking giant WeWork has been on a leasing streak this year, signing massive leases across Manhattan. It took 255,610 SF at 500-512 Seventh Ave., owned by the Moinian Group, Chetrit Group and Edward J. Minskoff Equities. The lease is reportedly for more than 20 years with an asking rent of $65 per square foot.
Blank Rome LLP
Location: 1271 Sixth Ave.
Size of lease: 137,986
Rockefeller Group has locked down two major leases at 1271 Sixth this year, with law firm Blank Rome joining Latham & Watkins at the Midtown building. Blank Rome is taking 137,986 SF on floors 15 through 17, as well as part of the 14th floor. The lease is set to start next quarter, and means Blank Rome will be leaving the Chrysler Building.
McGraw-Hill Education
Location: 1325 Sixth Ave.
Size of lease: 136K SF
Paramount Group has signed McGraw-Hill Education for its building at 1325 Sixth Ave. The publisher is taking 136K SF in the building across the fifth through ninth floors, and some of the 12th floor.
Greenberg Traurig LLP
Location: One Vanderbilt Ave.
Size of lease: 133K SF
Law firm Greenberg Traurig is taking four full floors at One Vanderbilt, SL Green’s marquee property in Midtown East, signing a lease for 132,647 SF earlier this year.
The $3B tower is now 37% leased, according to SL Green, which means it has already hit its 2018 goal. Law firm McDermott Will & Emery is taking 106K SF there and the Carlyle Group signed up for 94K SF earlier this month — although that deal involves SL Green taking over the private equity firm's lease at 520 Madison Ave., which could cost at least $100M.
Wolters Kluwer
Location: 28 Liberty St.
Size of lease: 130K SF
Fosun International inked a deal with Wolters Kluwer, a global information services company, for 130K SF at 28 Liberty St. earlier this year. The 2.2M SF building that Fosun bought in 2013 for $725M underwent a major repositioning in 2015, which is said to have cost between $150M and $200M.
