“Freakonomics” firm to pay triple-digit rent at 510 Madison

Boston Properties also signed investment firm, capping string of leases

From left: Greg Taubin, 510 Madison Avenue (center) and Mort Zuckerman
From left: Greg Taubin, 510 Madison Avenue (center) and Mort Zuckerman

Hot on the heels of signing Canada’s pension fund and an investment firm, Boston Properties has sewed up two more full floors at its 510 Madison Avenue trophy tower, including the top floor — which commanded a starting rent of $130 per square foot, The Real Deal has learned from CompStak.

The Greatest Good, a Chicago-based consulting firm whose founders include “Freakonomics” author Steven Levitt, will take the entire top floor of the 30-story, 350,000-square-foot tower in The Plaza District, the CompStak data show. The 11,400-square-foot deal runs for ten years, according to CompStak.

CBRE Group’s Christie Harle and Neil King marketed the space. Neither of the brokers could be reached for comment by press time. The Greatest Good was represented by Newmark Grubb Knight Frank’s Daniel Madison, who declined to comment.

In a separate deal, investment firm Gruss Capital Management took the entire 16th floor of the building, the CompStak data show. The 11,500-square-foot, 10-year deal will see Gruss pay starting rents of just under $100 per square foot, though it will see its rents inch above $100 per square foot after five years. Gruss will be moving from a comparably-sized space at 667 Madison Avenue, according to Studley’s Greg Taubin, who brokered the 510 Madison Avenue deal but declined to comment further.

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Boston Properties – which could not be reached for comment by press time — was once again represented by CBRE’s Harle and King.

The real estate investment trust paid Harry Macklowe $298 million for the tower in 2010. Other tenants at the building include embattled billionaire Steve Cohen’s SAC Capital Management, which has over 65,000 square feet from the second through sixth floors, and investment firm Abraaj Group, which paid over $120 per square foot for its 24th-floor space, according to CompStak.

Boston Properties inked deals with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), one of the world’s largest pension plans, and 400 Capital Management in July. CPP paid in the mid-$90s per square foot for its 15th floor space, and 400 Capital paid in the mid-$90s for its 17th floor space, according to CompStak.