Flurry of leasing activity at 1166 Sixth Avenue

The 44-story office tower at 1166 Sixth Avenue has just seen a staggering 260,000 square feet worth of closed deals, especially given today’s commercial real estate environment. D.E. Shaw, the hedge fund, doubled its current space in the building by subleasing four floors vacated last year by insurance company Marsh & McLennan, which also owns the upper half of the building. Edward Minskoff is the owner of the tower’s lower half, where D.E. Shaw is located, and where the asking rent was reported to be $45 per square foot. Some have since wondered whether D.E. Shaw would soon move the rest of its employees out of the company’s 100,000 feet at Nearby 120 West 45th Street into Minskoff’s building. Westwood One Radio Networks also inked a lease for the 10th floor, and hedge fund manager Invesco signed a renewal and expansion on Marsh & McLennan’s floors 25 through 27, where the asking rents were said to be $58 per square foot. [Post, 1st item]