Public-sector leasing jumps, non-profits move to cheaper nabes: report

100 Church Street and 330 West 34th Street, which had the largest government leases in 2012
100 Church Street and 330 West 34th Street, which had the largest government leases in 2012

Leasing by nonprofits and the city’s agencies and departments soared 64 percent last year to 4.2 million square feet, according to a report by Cassidy Turley, cited by the New York Observer.

“Larger, more sophisticated public-sector institutions have leased on average larger spaces,” managing director Robair Reichenstein, the report’s author, told the Observer.

The report shows the government was the most active leaser. The two largest public-sector leases were a 505,000-square-foot renewal and expansion at 100 Church Street from the Law Department and a 302,000-square-foot lease renewal at 330 West 34th Street from the Human Resources Administration.

As new office buildings with high rents transform such areas as Midtown South, nonprofits are moving to cheaper neighborhoods.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

By signing up, you agree to TheRealDeal Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy.

“The two places in Manhattan where the best values are are in lower Manhattan and near Penn Station,” Reichenstein said. “What you see is that this year, for the first time, Midtown South is showing a lack of activity.”

See the Observer’s map of Manhattan nonprofit leasing deals in 2012 below. [NYO] Christopher Cameron