Start-up firms priced out of Midtown South may travel to NoMad

Ash Zandieh
Ash Zandieh

Midtown South too expensive? NoMad may be the answer. The cleverly-named area north of Madison Park may become the preferred spot for creative businesses priced out of office space elsewhere in the area, the New York Observer reported. According to Ash Zandieh, director of TechStarter, the creative arm of ABS Partners, NoMad has the cool cultural pull to attract start-up firms without the hefty rents. In addition, the neighborhood provides proximity to others who work in similar start-up fields.

However, when it comes to tenants, there is still a scarcity of web developers and computer engineers in the area, and the ones that are there come right from Silicon Valley, Zandieh told the Observer. “Those engineers that are coming from the West Coast to the East Coast only know what they read, and they understand that Silicon Alley is traditionally Union Square and Flatiron, between 23rd and 14th streets, and some parts east, some parts west,” he said.

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Rents in Midtown South increased 10 percent year-over-year in the fourth quarter—to up to $70 per square foot—according to ABS Partners’ most recent report. Tenants in the media, fashion, advertising, mobile and ecommerce sectors drove the increase, the brokerage said. [NYO] –Zachary Kussin