The Real Deal New York

Leasing activity in the New York City commercial real estate market grew at a fast clip in the first half of the year, according to a new Crain’s ranking of the area’s largest transactions during the first six months of 2011. The top five leasing deals during that time period amounted to 4.3 million square feet of space, up 150 percent from the first half of 2010, when just 1.7 million square feet was leased up in the area. Taking advantage of the uptick was CB Richard Ellis, which represented the landlords in 11 of the top 50 leasing deals of the first two quarters, including the largest lease: Comcast/NBC University’s 1.4 million-square-foot renewal deal at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. CBRE also represented tenants in 13 of the top 50 deals. Meanwhile, Cushman & Wakefield represented the landlord in 10 top-ranked deals, including the second-largest lease, the 1 million-square-foot Conde Nast deal at 1 World Trade Center, and was on the tenant-rep side in 13 of the top 50 deals. In the first half of 2010, Cushman represented the tenant in just eight of the top 50 deals. [Crain's]