These Are The Biggest NYC Office Leases Signed Since The Pandemic Began
The city’s office leasing marketing came to a screeching halt this year, with deal volume plunging to lows not seen in more than a decade. Property tours were banned for months, businesses are reconsidering their footprints, and many tenants are said to be trying to get out of leases or dump space on the sublease market.
There are some signs of life, however, with some tech giants closing on long-rumored deals, others on the hunt and multiple renewals getting inked. Here’s a look the biggest leases that actually got signed in Manhattan since the crisis, according to data from Savills and Colliers International:
Location: Farley Building
Size: 730K SF
Landlord: Vornado
Type: New lease
Months of speculation ended in a formal announcement from Vornado this week, with Facebook now set to take all the office space at the James A. Farley Building near Penn Station. The deal means the social networking giant, which previously said some employees will be allowed to work from home forever, has now leased more than 2.2M SF of new office space in the city in less than a year.
Last November, the company planted its flag at Hudson Yards. In its biggest real estate deal of all time, it took 1.5M SF across three buildings at Related Cos. and Oxford Properties Group's $25B project. Vornado CEO Steven Roth said the lease at Farley, in which Related owns a minority stake, is a “further testament to New York City’s extraordinary talent and reinforces New York’s position as the nation’s second tech hub.”
The Farley redevelopment at 421 Eighth Ave. had also caught the eye of Apple and Amazon, with rumors flying around last year that Facebook's fellow tech behemoths were also vying for the space.
NBCUniversal
Location: 1221 Sixth Ave.
Size: 340K SF
Landlord: Rockefeller Group
Type: Renewal
Seven years ago, NBC expanded its space at 1221 Sixth Ave. in Midtown, and it has now inked a deal to stay there. Rockefeller Group owns the skyscraper, known as the McGraw-Hill Building, which is across the street from NBC’s 30 Rock headquarters. In 2013, the company expanded by 95K SF and has space across the entire 27th and 29th floors, per The New York Post.
Though it has opted to keep its bricks-and-mortar space at this location, NBC is said to be looking to start laying off some of its staff. Up to 10% of staff at the Comcast subsidiary will be affected, per CNBC, as it deals with the coronavirus and pushes further into streaming.
BNP Paribas
Location: 787 Seventh Ave.
Size: 323K SF
Landlord: CommonWealth Partners and the California Public Employees’ Retirement System
Lease: Renewal and reduction
French international bank BNP Paribas renewed for 323K SF in Midtown last month, according to Colliers International. The new deal is for 20 years, Commercial Observer reported, and comes as the bank also renewed its 150K SF lease at Newport Tower in New Jersey. The deal at the Seventh Avenue building is actually a downsize as the bank's former lease was for 454K SF at the 1.7M SF tower.
Securities and Exchange Commission
Location: 100 Pearl St.
Size: 241K SF
Landlord: GFP Real Estate and Northwind Group
Type: Relocation
April was a dark month for New York City, with the city entirely shut down as thousands of city residents died from the virus. The office leasing market picked up slightly from March, however, driven in part by the SEC’s decision to take 241K SF at 100 Pearl St.
The commission is moving from Brookfield Place, which is in the midst of a major revamp. The deal is for 20 years, and according to a release from the U.S. General Services Administration, the federal government's real estate and procurement arm, the move will save taxpayers $82M.
TikTok
Location: 151 West 42nd St.
Size: 232K SF
Landlord: Durst Organization
Type: New lease
Back in May, video-sharing app TikTok offered a glimmer of hope in New York's leasing market, becoming the first company to lock down a major deal since the onset of the pandemic.
The building is now known as One Five One, but in a previous life was 4 Times Square, and had vast chunks of space to fill following the departures of law firm Skadden Arps and Condé Nast.
But TikTok has hit some choppy waters, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo suggesting last month that it could be banned in the U.S, over concerns its parent company, ByteDance, could be using it to gather Americans’ data and give it to the Chinese government. President Donald Trump has also floated the idea of a ban in recent days, and Microsoft is potentially looking into buying the app, per reports. However, a representative for the landlord said it has already delivered the space to the popular app company.
AIG
Location: 28 Liberty
Size: 217K SF
Landlord: Fosun International
Type: Relocation
AIG, or American International Group, is making moves — with the financial services and insurance company announcing last month it is executing on a shakeup of its real estate footprint in the region. AIG is decamping from its 175 Water St. headquarters, CEO Brian Duperreault announced. As part of the changes, it is leasing more than 300K SF at 1271 Sixth Ave. across eight floors in a deal that was closed last year. At 28 Liberty St., it is taking 217K SF. It is also leasing approximately 230K SF at 30 Hudson in Jersey City, the company said in its announcement of the plans last month.
“New York City has played an important part in AIG’s history and we are proud to be headquartered in this unique and resilient city,” Duperreault said in a statement announcing the new headquarters. As a result of the deal, 28 Liberty is now 98% leased, Fosun said.
Allen & Overy
Location: 1221 Sixth Ave.
Size: 143K SF
Landlord: Rockefeller Group
Type: Renewal
London-based law firm Allen & Overy has opted to stay put at its current address, reportedly throwing cold water on plans to move to Tishman Speyer’s 630 Fifth Ave. Instead, it renewed for 143K SF at the Rockefeller Group-owned McGraw Hill Buildiong. Before the virus hit, Allen & Overy had been weighing a move one long block over and one short block up, The Real Deal reported in May. The lease extension runs for five years.
BNY Mellon
Location: 200 Park Ave.
Size: 130K SF
Landlord: Tishman Speyer
Type: Renewal
BNY Mellon has renewed for 130K at the MetLife Building in a deal that closed in April, according to Savills. The Tishman Speyer-owned building is home to BNY Mellon Wealth Management, per its website, which has space on the 54th floor.
Mitsubishi International
Location: 655 Third Ave.
Size: 120K SF
Landlord: Durst Organization
Type: Renewal
Japanese-owned Mitsubishi, which has been at 655 Third Ave. since 2004, is staying put. The company’s space spans the second through sixth floors, and the asking price in the renewal deal was $70 per SF. The lease adds another three years onto the lease, The Real Deal reports.
Policygenius
Location: 32 Old Slip
Size: 86K SF
Landlord: RXR Realty
Type: Relocation
Insurance startup Policygenius opted to leave the Flatiron District and inked a deal back in May to move downtown. The company is taking the entire 30th and 31st floors and part of the fifth floor, per Commercial Observer.
The price for the fifth floor was $65 per SF,l while the space on the higher levels is at $75 per SF. Other tenants in the building include Cahill Gordon & Reindel, which took 200K SF, and Alliant Insurance Services, both of which locked down space there in 2018.
Contact Miriam Hall at miriam.hall@bisnow.com.
