NYC’s 10 biggest office leases signed in September

1745 Broadway and 1221 Sixth Avenue (inset from top: Markus Dohle and Elliott Portnoy)
1745 Broadway and 1221 Sixth Avenue (inset from top: Markus Dohle and Elliott Portnoy)

September was a busy month for Cushman & Wakefield. On top of its successful courtship of Eastdil Secured megabrokers Doug Harmon and Adam Spies, the firm also brokered six of the 10 largest office leases of the month, including the largest, Random House Penguin’s 630,000-square-foot renewal at 1745 Broadway.

Using CoStar Group data and our own analysis, The Real Deal put together a list of the 10 biggest lease deals inked in September.

1) Penguin Random House books up 1745 Broadway – 631,025 square feet

Publishing firm Penguin Random House renewed a giant lease at SL Green Realty [TRDataCustom] and Ivanhoe Cambridge’s 1745 Broadway, part of a plan to completely close the publisher’s Soho offices. With the lease inked, Penguin Random House is now expected to be the 52-story’s office tower’s sole commercial tenant. Once the Soho offices are closed, more than 2,400 employees are expected to work at 1745 Broadway. A Cushman & Wakefield team led by Richard Bernstein represented Penguin Random House on the transaction.

2) Global law firm has no objection to 1221 Sixth Avenue – 190,576 square feet

Dentons, one of the world’s largest law firms, extended its current lease at Rockefeller Group’s 1221 Sixth Avenue through 2025. The firm has occupied space in the tower since 1992. Dentons was represented by a CBRE team that included Stuart Eisenkraft, Lewis Miller, Andrew Sussman and Brendan Herlihy. John Cefaly of Cushman & Wakefield brokered the deal on behalf of landlord Rockefeller Group.

3) Michael J Fox Foundation travels to a Garment District future – 86,492 square feet

The Michael J Fox Foundation, a nonprofit set up by its namesake actor that supports Parkinson’s disease research, more than doubled its current office space in a planned move to Empire State Realty Trust’s 111 West 33rd Street, where the landlord too has its headquarters. Brian Siegel of the Lawrence Group represented the Michael J Fox Foundation on the lease signing, while a Newmark Grubb Knight Frank team of Erik Harris, Scott Klau and Neil Rubin represented Empire State Realty Trust.

4) Maple leaves in Manhattan – 77,873 square feet

In another office consolidation, the Canadian consulate and its permanent mission to the United Nations will move from its respective offices into RXR Realty’s 237 Park Avenue. The government of Canada tapped Savills Studley’s David Goldstein and Greg Taubin to handle their space switch-up. A JLL team of Paul Glickman, Mitchell Konsker, Cynthia Wasserberger and Daniel Turkewitz took care of business for RXR.

5) “The Real Office Leases of Manhattan” – 49,320 square feet

The producers of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” and a myriad other spouse-based reality television shows signed a 49,320-square-foot lease at Clarion Partners and MHP Real Estate Service’s 180 Maiden Lane last month. True Entertainment is leaving the Starrett Lehigh building to make the move, and its sister company, Original Media, which currently leases space at 175 Varick Street and 345 Hudson Street, will make the move with them. Landlords MHP and Clarion were represented by a Cushman & Wakefield team of Frank Cento, Tara Stacom, Robert Lowe and Justin Royce on the lease signing.

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6) Pickled herring, krønes cøming tø Hudsøn Yards – 44,517 square feet

Oslo-based DNB Bank took 44,517 feet at Related Companies’ still under-construction 30 Hudson Yards, where it will occupy the tower’s 68th floor. Norway’s largest bank will leave the MetLife building when it makes the move in 2019. Cushman and Wakefield’s Frank Coco and Donald Preate represented the bank on the deal.

7) Law firm chips away at empty Condé Nast space – 41,000 square feet

Fross Zelnick Lehrman and Zissu became the latest tenant to fill some of the 850,000 gap left by Condé Nast when they departed from the Durst Organization’s 4 Times Square in 2014. The law firm’s new 41,000-square-foot lease starts in February and lasts 15 years. Mark Weiss and Robert Eisenberg of Cushman and Wakefield brokered the deal on behalf of the new tenants.

8) Budget clothier to stay in the Garment District – 35,894 square feet

The New York corporate offices of Burlington Coat Factory will stay at Empire State Realty Trust’s 1400 Broadway in the Garment District following a lease renewal last month. The guilding is also home to offices of another off price retailer, Kohl’s. Scott Klau, Erik Harris and Neil Rubin of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank represented ESRT on the lease renewal.

9) Medical defense specialists renew at 220 East 42nd Street – 33,458 square feet

Martin Clearwater & Bell, a law firm that defends medical institutions, renewed its space at SL Green’s 220 East 42nd Street. Yet another Cushman & Wakefield team was retained for the deal, this time for the landlord, and it included agents Tara Stacom, Barry Zeller, Justin Royce and Connor Daugstrup.

10) A lively renewal at 575 Lexington Avenue – 33,268 square feet

Post-production conglomerate Lively Group renewed a lease at George Comfort & Sons’ 575 Lexington Avenue in Midtown East. The company occupies four floors at the address and the new lease last 11 years. The CBRE team of Stephen Siegel, Roshan Shah and Chris Corrinet represented Lively Group on the deal.

Source: TRD and CoStar Group reporting for lease transactions with known tenants

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