BlackRock narrows HQ search down to three locations

Asset manager BlackRock narrowed its list of potential new headquarters locations down to three: The Durst Organization’s One World Trade Center, the Related Companies and Oxford Properties Group’s Hudson Yards and Brookfield Property Partners’ Manhattan West.

The company currently occupies around 700,000 square feet in two buildings – 55 East 52nd Street and Rudin Management Company’s 40 East 52nd Street – where its lease expires in 2023. The Real Deal reported in February that it tapped a JLL team headed by Peter Riguardi to find a new, larger office space.  According to the Wall Street Journal, BlackRock is looking to lease 850,000 square feet at a possible annual rent of around $60 million.

One World Trade Center was 69 percent leased as of early June, and landing BlackRock would bring the 3 million-square-foot tower close to full occupancy. Hudson Yards, meanwhile, has already landed major finance tenants Wells Fargo and fund manager KKR.

BlackRock’s [TRDataCustom] employee count has grown from 5,341 at the end of 2008 to currently 13,000. As banks and other Wall Street firms suffered from the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis and stricter financial regulation, asset managers like BlackRock and the Blackstone Group have captured market share. [WSJ] – Konrad Putzier