MasterCard close to tech lab lease in Midtown South

MasterCard is close to inking a lease for a 60,000-square-foot “lab” in Midtown South.

The space, at 114 Fifth Avenue, would house a mobile e-commerce technology lab with 122 employees. The Westchester, N.Y.-based credit card processor announced yesterday it planned to open such a space in Manhattan, but did not specify where.

Asking rents at the 20-story, 340,000-square-foot building, at West 17th Street, average in the $80s per square foot, according to Crain’s.

L&L Holding bought the long-term leasehold for 114 Fifth Avenue earlier this year for $165 million, in a joint venture with private equity firm Lubert-Adler. [Crain’s] — Mark Maurer