NFL to downsize, relocate Manhattan HQ

The National Football League is nearing a deal to relocate its
Manhattan headquarters in a cost-cutting move that would shrink its
office space by about 15 percent, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The NFL is currently located in 205,000 square feet at 280 Park Avenue,
which Is Owned By Broadway Partners, but the lease expires in 2012 and
it is now planning to sign on for 175,000 square feet at the Rudin
family-owned 345 Park Avenue, two blocks north. The organization will
hardly be the first big tenant to downsize and take advantage of
bargain prices amid the commercial real estate slump. Office rents on
Park Avenue between 47th and 65th streets are down to $65.97 per square
foot from their $102.62 per square foot peak, according to CoStar, and
while leasing activity has picked up, that’s mostly because of tenants
like the NFL consolidating while it’s still inexpensive to do so. The
NFL, which has been cutting costs across the board since late 2008, has
around 75 fewer staffers in its New York office since the downturn
began and has tapped Ted Moudis Associates to design the new office
space. [WSJ]