PayPal’s Peter Thiel brings venture capital firm to NYC

Intrigued by the burgeoning New York City tech scene, a global venture capital firm run by a co-founder of PayPal has inked a lease for its first office in the city – and on the East Coast – according to ABS Partners Real Estate, which represented the landlord in the deal.

Peter Thiel’s San Francisco-based Valar Ventures will take nearly 2,800 square feet over the course of five years at 915 Broadway.

The office building, at 21st Street near Union Square, had asking rents reportedly in the $50s per square foot. CBRE brokers Michael Hirsch and Sacha Zarba represented Valar, while ABS Partners brokers Carol Sacks, Alex Kaskel and Jay Caseley represented 915 Broadway Associates LLC.

Over the summer, the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine left 915 Broadway for 110 William Street, as previously reported.

In 2011, a subsidiary of venture capital firm Founders Fund, of which Thiel is a partner, purchased the Bacchus House, a six-bedroom townhouse at 40 West 10th Street for $20 million. — Mark Maurer