Brookfield Place

Global law firm Jones Day is close to signing a long-term lease for 400,000 square feet at Brookfield Place, formerly known as the World Financial Center, sources told Crain’s.

The Washington, D.C.-based firm would move from its Midtown office at 222 East 41st Street to a 34-story tower at 4 Brookfield Place, the website said. Real estate investment trust Brookfield Office Properties owns the 1.7 million-square-foot complex in the Financial District. [more]

200 Fifth Avenue (credit: PropertyShark)

The media outlet known for kitty GIFs and other quirky news is moving into a 57,691-square-foot space at 200 Fifth Avenue between West 23rd and West 24th streets, the New York Post reported. BuzzFeed will sublease the entire eighth floor from jewelry titan Tiffany for two years.

Steven Marvin of Olmstead Properties represented BuzzFeed in the transaction and Greg Taubin of Studley represented Tiffany. [more]

Time Warner Center

Time Warner has reached out to two additional firms, Eastdil Secured and Jones Lang LaSalle, to help it value its million-square-foot Columbus Circle headquarters, having already solicited the services of Studley last week, the Wall Street Journal reported. The media behemoth is preparing to move into a new location or consolidate its more than 4 million square feet of New York City office space. If the company does decide to sell, the building could command prices of roughly $1,000 a square foot for a total price north of a billion dollars. The intense bidding interest likely from a sale announcement would mean that brokers could reap rich rewards from commission, typically below 1 percent on a deal of this size…. [more]

Time Warner Center

Time Warner is reaching out to brokers to assess the value of its Manhattan headquarters, as it prepares to move into a new location or consolidate its more than 4 million square feet of New York City office space, the Wall Street Journal reported. Over the last two years, the company has been considering new locations, including the West Side rail yards and Brookfield Place. Though the company owns its million-square-foot headquarters by Columbus Circle, the majority of its other office space is leased. Sources told the Journal that if Time Warner were to make a move to a new location, it would likely sell the Time Warner Center…. [more]

256 West 38th Street

A $48.6 million deal for a building that traded for $30 million only 18 months ago — a $250 per square foot to $400 per square foot price increase – is further evidence that Garment District real estate is on the rise. According to the New York Post, the 118,200 square-foot former apparel factory at 256 West 38th Street sold to American Realty Capital New York Recovery REIT in a Studley Capital Transaction Group-brokered deal. The seller was a a joint venture between East End Capital and GreenOak Real Estate. [more]

The former Times building and Greg Taubin

Tech firm 10gen has inked a five-year lease for about 29,400 square feet inside the former New York Times building at 229 West 43rd Street, Crain’s reported. The corporation database developer is leaving its current, less spacious Soho office for more than double the space uptown. 10gen is planning an April move.

As previously reported, Blackstone Group was on the hunt for a tenant for the top 12 floors of the 18-story property. Blackstone even spent $105 million on upgrades to the nearly 480,000-square-foot space and added ping-pong tables and a basketball court to attract tech tenants. [more]

Woody Heller and the Madison Belvedere

The Madison Belvedere, a rental property located at 10 East 29th Street between Madison and Fifth avenues, has sold for $300 million, sources told the New York Post.

The property, owned by Rose Associates, was marketed by the Studley team of Woody Heller, Will Silverman, Eric Negrin and Daniel Parker. Invesco purchased the building on behalf of a client. [more]

From left: Studley’s David Goldstein and Greg Taubin and 2 WFC

The San Francisco, Calif.-based international law firm Sedgwick inked a deal to move its New York City office to 2 World Financial Center in Lower Manhattan, information in real estate database CoStar Group shows.

The law firm, represented by Studley brokers David Goldstein and Greg Taubin, will reduce its footprint in New York — moving from about 75,446 square feet at 125 Broad Street, also in Lower Manhattan, to 43,374 square feet at Brookfield Office Properties’ 1.8 million square foot Class A tower. [more]

Viacom leased 1.6 million square feet at 1515 Broadway in the second quarter

The volume of Manhattan office leasing is up slightly in the second quarter, although not enough to offset the availability rate, according to Studley and Avison Young reports cited by Globe St. The studies credit big renewals for the slight growth, and blame global financial uncertainty for the increased vacancy.

Viacom not only renewed but expanded its lease to 1.6 million square feet at SL Green Realty Corp.’s 1515 Broadway. Morgan Stanley also expanded from a sublease to a 1.2-million-square-foot direct lease at Brookfield Office Properties’ 1 New York Plaza. Citigroup renewed its 475,000-square-foot lease at Boston Properties’ 601 Lexington Ave., and Random House renewed its 361,000 square feet at SL Green’s 1745 Broadway. [more]

From left: Woody Heller and Will Silverman of Studley and 525 Broadway (credit: PropertyShark)

JPMorgan Chase paid $87.5 million for the eight-story Soho building where one of its most popular bank branches is located, in an effort to protect the valuable location, several industry sources said. A number of real estate investors offered to pay around $68 million for the building, 525 Broadway, industry sources said, while others were well into the $80s. [more]