Law Firm Signs 144K SF Lease At Brookfield's Two Manhattan West
The migration of Midtown office tenants to shiny new Hudson Yards towers marches on.
Brookfield has signed law firm Clifford Chance to a 144K SF lease at Two Manhattan West, the 1.9M SF, 935-foot-tall skyscraper it is developing on Manhattan's Far West Side, the developer announced Wednesday.
London-based Clifford Chance, one of the 10 biggest law firms in the world, plans to move 500 employees to floors 39 to 42 in the building in 2024. It is relocating its office from Paramount Group's 31 West 52nd St., where it signed a 380K SF sublease with Deutsche Bank in 2003 that runs until May 2024.
“We look forward to welcoming Clifford Chance to Manhattan West where they will join our growing roster of world-class tenants,” Brookfield Executive Vice President Duncan McCuaig said in a statement. “In an environment of fierce competition for talent, Two Manhattan West is attracting industry-leading firms that see the building as a key asset in their ability to recruit and retain a top-tier workforce.”
Two Manhattan West topped out in January and is set to deliver next year. Clifford Chance is the second tenant announced in the building, joining fellow law firm Cravath Swaine & Moore, which signed on in 2019 to anchor the tower with a 350K SF deal. The two deals bring the $2B building, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, to 33% leased, according to a Brookfield spokesperson.
It is the final piece of the Manhattan West megaproject that will ultimately feature 6M SF of office space, a 2-acre public park, a boutique hotel, more than 200K SF of retail space and a luxury rental tower.
The property’s sister tower, One Manhattan West, was valued at $2.85B earlier this year when Blackstone acquired a 49% stake in the 67-story building. That building, which has EY, Accenture and the National Hockey League among its tenants, is set to be entirely powered by hydroelectric facilities owned by Brookfield Renewables, one of a tiny number of New York City buildings not powered by fossil fuels.
Clifford Chance was represented by CBRE’s Stuart Eisenkraft, Chris Hogan, Lewis Miller, Ramneek Rikhy and Andrew Sussman in the deal. Cushman & Wakefield’s Howard Cross, Nicholas Dysenchuk, Josh Kuriloff, Matthias Li, Robert Lowe, Bruce Mosler, John Santora and Ethan Silverstein represented Brookfield.
