Richard Persichetti and Chelsea Market

The Chelsea/Meatpacking area of Midtown South had the lowest availability of office leasing space of any of Manhattan’s 19 submarkets, according to Richard Persichetti, vice president of research at Cassidy Turley. Some 6.9 percent of space was vacant in the first quarter of 2013 — a drop from the nearly 9 percent availability in the previous quarter, Persichetti noted in a New York Observer column. [more]

Robert Sammons

The head of research for the Tri-State area at Cassidy Turley is moving to Newmark Grubb Knight Frank to head the larger Midtown-based firm’s local research division. Robert Sammons, a well-known analyst popular with the local real estate press, is leaving the mid-size commercial brokerage after more than 12 years on the job, several sources familiar with the move, said. His new title at NGKF, where he will start in several weeks, was not immediately known. Sammons, who has a regular column with the Commercial Observer, worked for three years in the mid-1990s for Cushman & Wakefield…. [more]

250 Park Avenue

La Belle Époque may be history, but one of France’s oldest absinthe makers is moving up in the world. Pernod Ricard, a brand once eponymous with bohemianism, has struck a deal to take the floors 16 to 18 at 250 Park Avenue, the New York Observer reported. The expansion comes after Pernod Ricard USA and Pernod Ricard America— also owners of liquor brands Absolut Vodka and Jameson Irish Whiskey — signed an 82,000-square-foot lease for three floors, with an option for a fourth, at Park Avenue and East 20th Street in May of last year. The additional floors will feature an open layout and an exposed, distillery-like environment, with a lounge and conference rooms…. [more]

Michael Kamm

Michael Kamm, the head of Cassidy Turley’s Northern California operations, has been promoted to president of the commercial real estate services firm, the company said today. Kamm previously served as the CEO of the firm’s predecessor, BT Commercial, which he joined in 1991 in Oakland, Calif. He has held his current position for 12 years. In his new role, he will lead Cassidy Turley’s managing principals and regional managing principals, and will join its board of directors. He will remain in San Francisco…. [more]

From the January issue: Despite a small flurry of deals last month, 2012 was one of the slowest years in recent memory for office leasing. Total leasing volume for 2012 fell to roughly 26.8 million square feet, a 33 percent drop from 40.7 million in 2011, preliminary figures from commercial firm Cassidy Turley showed. That drop-off, experts say, was due largely to big companies’ concerns about committing to space during these uncertain political and economic times (see related story: The office slump). But this year may be a different story. [more]

Peter Hennessy of Cassidy Turley and One New York Plaza

Office leasing in Manhattan plummeted by as much as a third in 2012, as large companies pulled back from major deals. Brokers broadly blamed the decline on the climate of political and economic uncertainty this year. Preliminary figures for 2012 show office leasing activity declined by 33 percent to 26.8 million square feet this year — compared to 40.7 million square feet in 2011, data from commercial services firm Cassidy Turley show. [more]

View down Fifth Avenue in the Plaza District

Due to it’s dependence on financial services firms, the Plaza District — situated between East 47th and East 55th streets between Central Park and the East River — has suffered most, coming in as the Manhattan Class A submarket with the highest vacancy in August, the New York Observer reported.

Those numbers, provided by commercial brokerage Cassidy Turley, reflect the nearly 500,000 square feet of space now available at Kushner and Vorndado’s 666 Fifth Avenue, much of which is sublease space Citibank put on the market in July. [more]

Source: Cassidy Turley

For the first time since the economic downturn, the U.S. retail real estate sector is showing substantial signs of improvement, according to a report released today by Cassidy Turley. In the first quarter of this year, 3.1 million square feet of U.S. retail space was absorbed. [more]

From left: 25 Independence Blvd in New Jersey, William O’Keefe, senior vice president at Normandy and Raymond Trevisan, a principal at Normandy

Normandy Real Estate Partners, a Morristown, N.J.-based private equity firm, said that Cassidy Turley will take over leasing for 1.1 million square feet of its New Jersey commercial real estate portfolio as part of a broad strategic alliance between the two firms. As part of the deal, Raymond Trevisan, a principal at Normandy, will join Cassidy Turley as managing principal and head of its New Jersey operations. William O’Keefe, senior vice president at Normandy, will join Cassidy Turley in that same capacity. [more]

Another three Grubb & Ellis employees have jumped ship, this time opting to join Cassidy Turley. The national commercial brokerage announced three new additions to its New York -based research, marketing and consulting team: Richard Persichetti, Danielle Regan and Arielle Herzfeld. They started March 12. [more]