Douglas Elliman unit signs lease at 712 Fifth

Development Marketing moving in to same building where Vector Group keeps NYC offices

From left: 712 Fifth Avenue, 575 Madison Avenue and Douglas Elliman's Susan De Franca
From left: 712 Fifth Avenue, 575 Madison Avenue and Douglas Elliman's Susan De Franca

Douglas Elliman Development Marketing is moving its headquarters to be just upstairs from the big boss, Howard Lorber, The Real Deal has learned. Citing a need for more space, the approximately 50 person staff of the massive brokerage’s new development arm will relocate to 712 Fifth Avenue, confirmed CEO Susan DeFranca.

The lease was signed earlier this week for just shy of 13,000 feet at the tower, at 56th Street, a representative for Douglas Elliman said. Previously, staffers were located at 575 Madison Avenue.

Vector Group, which owns Douglas Elliman among other businesses, already has a floor at the building, previous reports show. But this lease was a new, direct deal, De Franca said.

“Quite frankly we’ve outgrown our space and we wanted to be close to our corporate headquarters,” said De Franca. “Howard Lorber’s offices are there.”

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Development Marketing will occupy the entire 10th floor, while Lorber’s offices are on the company’s other floor – the top story of the 52-story tower. Brokers with Douglas Elliman Development Marketing will largely not move to the new space, De Franca said, but the executives, project managers, marketing, research and administrative staff will relocate a block over.

According to a 2011 story in Real Estate Weekly, the firm pays rents of $145 per square foot for that space. But rents on lower floors in the boutique trophy building would presumably be considerably lower.

De Franca said she was not sure what the terms of the most recent lease were, and Elliman corporate declined to comment on the rents and lease term.

The team will head to the tower — owned by an entity called 712 Fifth Avenue LP, according to city records — in late summer, De Franca said.