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Rupert Murdoch's U.S. media empire is staying at its longtime Midtown Manhattan headquarters for another two decades, keeping its footprint intact even as many companies are looking to downsize.
Fox Corp. and News Corp. have renewed their lease agreements at Ivanhoé Cambridge’s 45-story 1211 Sixth Ave., the landlord announced Tuesday. The two companies occupy nearly 1.2M SF between them, making the deal Manhattan’s largest office lease in three years. The deal closed before the end of 2022, according to the release.
Fox occupies 670K SF and News Corp. occupies 486K SF at the nearly 50-year-old tower, which Ivanhoé Cambridge and the building's asset manager, Hines, have agreed to upgrade to include new entrances and outdoor plazas, a new tenant lobby accessible from 47th Street and a renovated lobby on Sixth Avenue.
Both leases were extended through 2042, and have extension options that will become available as of December 2025 and 2027, respectively.
“FOX and News Corp are one of our largest tenant partners globally,” Ivanhoé Cambridge Executive Vice President for Leasing and Development North America Jonathan Pearce said in a statement. “This commitment made by Fox and News Corp is a clear vote of confidence in 1211 and Midtown Manhattan.”
CBRE’s Timothy Dempsey, Mary Ann Tighe, Ken Rapp, Christopher Mansfield and Ariel Ball represented the tenants in the lease negotiations. Cushman & Wakefield’s Josh Kuriloff, Ethan Silverstein, Mitch Arkin and Heather Thomas worked on behalf of the landlord.
The deal is welcome news to the Manhattan office market, as it sees a major tenant keep its footprint stable in an older building. Nearly two-thirds of Manhattan technology, media, advertising and information tenants have moved to newer buildings since the onset of the pandemic, with an average age difference of 40 years, according to CompStak data reported by The Real Deal.
Office activity in Manhattan slowed to end the year, dropping by roughly 40% in the fourth quarter, according to Savills.
Fox Corp. is the owner of the Fox broadcast network and Fox News, while News Corp. is the parent of Dow Jones, the publisher of The Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch and news organizations in the UK and Australia in addition to HarperCollins Publishers.
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