Bloomberg Extends 1M SF Headquarters Lease Until 2040
The financial information and media company run by the former mayor of New York City is keeping its headquarters in place until the end of the next decade.
Bloomberg LP has extended its nearly 1M SF lease for the entirety of the office space at 731 Lexington Ave., the Manhattan office building owned by real estate investment trust Alexander’s, Inc.
The extension will kick in when Bloomberg's current lease expires in 2029 and runs until 2040, according to a release. The company occupies all of the 947K SF of office space in the 1.3M SF skyscraper, which is known for its distinctive elliptical courtyard.
Vornado Realty Trust owns a 32.4% stake in Alexander's, and Steven Roth serves as chairman and CEO of both REITs.
“731 Lexington remains a best-in-class Midtown tower,” Roth said in a statement. “Bloomberg’s decision to remain is a testament to the rare and enduring quality of the tower as well as to our successful decades-long partnership.”
The 56-story property opened 20 years ago, and Bloomberg moved into 697K SF of offices upon its completion before expanding to its current footprint. Bloomberg has more than tripled its real estate footprint in New York City since moving into 731 Lexington, but around 7,000 of its 12,000 New York-based employees work in the Midtown East tower, according to a release.
“I firmly believe in New York City's continued growth as a global capital that creates jobs and attracts top talent,” Bloomberg founder Michael Bloomberg said in a statement. “I also believe in the power of in-person work to drive collaboration and innovation, and 731 Lexington’s open spaces help us do that. We're glad to be staying.”
While the return to office is lagging in other cities, swipe card data from Kastle Systems placed the NYC metro area at 57% of pre-pandemic occupancy in the last week of April and has been among the best-performing cities this year in foot traffic tracking firm Placer.ai's office use rankings.
The improved attendance is giving more office tenants the confidence to lock down space. There were 2.8M SF of Manhattan office leases signed in April, according to Colliers, doubling the figure from a year prior. Availability in the city's office market ticked down for the first time in months.
