Viacom renews Broadway HQ lease, plans to expand space to 1.6M sf

Lease is the biggest in NYC history not involving a sale-leaseback transaction

SL Green said it renewed the 1.4 million-square-foot lease for Viacom’s headquarters at 1515 Broadway through 2031, and Viacom will expand the space to 1.6 million square feet, making it the biggest lease in New York City history that didn’t involve a sale-leaseback transaction. Viacom, which has anchored the Times Square office building for more than 20 years, will expand into the larger space after the year 2020. Viacom had been the subject of speculation for several years over whether it would move.

There was widespread concern that Viacom would relocate to the World Trade Center once its existing lease ran out in 2015.

“This transaction reaffirms the desirability for trophy assets located in the prime areas of Midtown Manhattan,” said Marc Holliday, CEO of SL Green, in a statement.

SL Green in 2011 bought out SITQ, the subsidiary of a Canadian investment fund, as its joint venture partner at 1515 Broadway, for $1.21 billion.

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SL Green, the biggest landlord in New York, said the deal follows a $775 million deal with Bank of China, to refinance the building mortgage, replacing an earlier $447 million mortgage.

The property is also the home of the Minskoff Theater and the Best Buy Theater.

The CBRE Group team of Michael Laginestra, Scott Gottlieb, Andrew Sussman and Ramneek Rikhy represented Viacom in the transaction. SL Green was represented in-house.

The terms of the deal were not released.