Warner Bros. Discovery has offloaded another chunk of its massive footprint at Hudson Yards, this time to hospitality company Convene.
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Convene has signed a deal to open a 72K SF event venue on the 24th floor of 30 Hudson Yards, the tallest building at the West Side megaproject. The events and flexible workspace company is taking the space from WBD, a source familiar with the deal told Bisnow.
Convene will also take a 3K SF retail space on the ground floor of the 1,270-foot supertall for a dedicated lobby and showroom.
The media conglomerate has already signed away large portions of its footprint in the building as it continues to trim its office space. This summer, law firm Covington & Burling subleased more than 235K SF from WBD while Susquehanna International Group took just less than 74K SF, CoStar reported.
The new Convene location will comprise 10 event spaces, including a grand hall that can accommodate up to 780 guests. It is set to open next summer. The deal makes the largest Convene location in New York City with a maximum capacity of just under 1,500 guests.
A Convene spokesperson confirmed it subleased the space in an announcement, but declined to comment further. WBD declined to comment. A Related spokesperson didn't respond to Bisnow’s inquiry.
“New York City continues to be a top-performing global destination for corporate meetings and events,” Brian Holland, head of real estate at Convene, said in a statement. “Many of our existing clients are headquartered or have a significant presence at Hudson Yards and this opportunity allows us to better serve our global client base at one of the city’s iconic mixed-use destinations.”
CBRE brokered both sides of the transaction, with Rocco Laginestra representing Convene and Robert Alexander representing Warner Bros. Discovery. Related's Stephen Winter and Elliot Karp represented the developer.
Back in 2014, then-Time Warner committed to be the anchor tenant in the yet-to-be-built 30 Hudson Yards, buying its portion of the building to help fund its construction. In 2019, Related Cos. and Allianz Real Estate bought and leased back the space for $2.2B. WBD’s lease runs through 2034, Commercial Observer reported at the time.
WBD has enacted a series of cost-cutting measures this year, including layoffs that impacted nearly 1,000 employees, primarily in its finance division. The move continued a spree of downsizing at the company since the merger of Discovery and WarnerMedia.
Last month, it wrote down the value of its television assets by $9B, triggering a sell-off in its stock. It has lost roughly $40B in market value since the merger in 2022, Reuters reported.
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