Citi Habitats shutters Financial District office

Citi Habitats has shuttered at least one of its numerous Manhattan offices.

The rental brokerage has closed its storefront Financial District branch at 100 John Street between Pearl and William streets, said Pamela Liebman, CEO of the Corcoran Group, which shares a parent company, NRT, with Citi Habitats.

“The lease was up and we didn’t need the space,” Liebman said, adding that the company may open another office in the area in the future. “If it picks up again in the Financial District, we’ll be happy to open another office down there.”

She added that the branch was a “tiny” office, with only about six agents. The office, in a 221-unit luxury rental building, closed several weeks ago, according to the leasing manager for the building, who asked to remain anonymous.

Gary Malin, president of Citi Habitats, did not respond to requests for comment.

Citi Habitats has 14 other offices in the city, according to its Web site.

As the New York City real estate market limps along under pressure from the economic downturn and untold job losses, many brokerages are looking to save money by eliminating or consolidating offices. The Real Deal reported Tuesday that Bellmarc Realty has closed its corporate headquarters at 352 Park Avenue South, moving workers stationed there to the company’s Flatiron office.

As for Corcoran, Liebman said the company  currently has no plans to close any of its offices, but may look at doing so as a way to cut costs in the current economy. Corcoran has 30 offices in the New York City area, including 14 on the East End of Long Island, according to the company Web site.

“We’re not closing any offices, but that may change,” Liebman said. “We’re continuing to monitor the market. If there are opportunities where we see that closing an office or a consolidation would suit our brokers well, we would take advantage of it.”