The 10 biggest office leases of October

There was a noticeable slowdown in office leasing activity in October. In September, the top 10 biggest office leasing deals totaled over 1.2 million square feet. But in October, the deals were fairly modest, totaling just 687,000 square feet. 

Here are the 10 biggest deals inked in October:

1) New York City Economic Development Corporation, 1 Liberty Plaza, Financial District – 220,000 square feet

The quasi-government agency inked a lease for 220,000 square feet of office space at 1 Liberty Plaza. The agency will take the entire 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th floors of the 54-story tower. The NYC EDC will occupy space with the city’s Department of Small Business Services. Neil Goldmacher, Chris Mongeluzo and Howard Kesseler of Newmark Knight Frank represented the tenant, while Mikael Nahmias of Brookfield Property Partners represented the landlord in-house, alongside a Newmark Knight Frank team of Pete Shimkin, Hal Stein and David Falk.

2) WeWork, 135 Madison Avenue, Midtown South – 90,228 square feet

The co-working company inked a lease for 90,228 square feet at 135 Madison Avenue. Louis Novick of J.W. Burke & Company represented the tenant. John Goodkind and Max Koeppel of Koeppel Rosen represented the landlord, Rosen Group.

3) American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, 250 West 57th Street, Midtown – 85,400 square feet

ASCAP inked a lease for 85,400 square feet at 250 West 57th Street in the 26-story building. The society will take parts of the 13th and 14th floors, as well as the entire 12th and 20th floors. Mary Ann Tighe, Robert Hill, Brendan Herlihy and Ken Meyerson of CBRE represented the tenant. Empire State Realty Trust is the landlord of the building.

4) Regus, 5 Penn Plaza, Hudson Yards – 60,000 square feet

The office provider renewed its lease for 10 years for 60,000 square feet at 5 Penn Plaza. Regus occupies the entire 19th and 23rd floors of the 26-story building, where asking rent was $68 per square foot. Jim Wenk and Patrick Heeg of JLL represented the tenant. Peter Turchin, Jason Pollen, Dave Caperna and Hilary Whittier of CBRE represented the landlord, Haymes Investment Company.

5) Convene, 101 Greenwich Street, Financial District – 58,000 square feet

The meeting space provider inked a lease for 58,000 square feet at 101 Greenwich Street for its 11th NYC location. Convene will run a coffee shop by For Five Coffee Roasters on the ground floor, as well as occupying the 2nd, 3rd and 4th floors. Rocco Laginestra, Jared Freede and Michael Wellen of CBRE represented the tenant. Mitch Konsker, Scott Cahaly, Clayton Kline and Kyle Young of JLL represented the landlords, Cove and Bentall Kennedy.

6) Squarespace, 225 Varick Street, West Village – 50,000 square feet

The tech company expanded its lease for 50,000 square feet and two additional floors at 225 Varick Street. Squarespace joins fast casual burger restaurant, Shake Shack, who recently inked a lease at that building. Rocco Laginestra and Paul Myers of CBRE represented the tenant. Howard Fiddle, Paul Amrich and Neil King, also of CBRE, represented the landlord, Trinity Hudson Holdings.

7) USI insurance Services, 261 Madison Avenue, Murray Hill – 34,080 square feet

The insurance firm, a longtime subtenant of the building, inked a lease with the owner of the building for 34,080 square feet at 261 Madison Avenue. USI occupies the entire 5th floor and a portion of the 6th. David Itzkowitz and Jack Keesser of Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant. Sapir Organization is the landlord of the building.

8) Gemini Trust Company, 315 Park Avenue South, Flatiron – 34,000 square feet

The digital currency exchange founded by the Winklevoss Twins inked a lease for more than 11 years with the asking rent in the low $90s per square foot for 34,000 square feet at 315 Park Avenue South. Ross Zimbalist and Michael Blum of CBRE represented the tenant. David Berkey and Andrew Wiener of L&L Holding represented the landlord, Columbia Property Trust.

9) Lafayette 148, 63 Flushing Avenue, Vinegar Hill – 28,000 square feet

The workspace provider company expanded its lease for 58,487 square feet of office space at 63 Flushing Avenue, also known as Brooklyn Navy Yard’s Building 77. The city of New York is the landlord of the building.

10) WeWork, 135 East 57th Street, Midtown – 27,000 square feet

The co-working company signed a lease for 27,000 square feet of office space at 135 East 57th Street. The company now occupies 9 floors at the 32-story tower. Michael Schoen of Savitt Partners represents the tenant. Marc Horowitz of Cohen Brothers Realty represented the landlord in-house.