Venture-capital research firm more than doubles its footprint in the Garment District

CB Insights, a research firm that tracks venture capital investing, is growing to more than 40,000 square feet in the Garment District.

The 10-year-old company signed a direct lease for the full, 43,000-square-foot 12th floor at George Comfort & Sons’ 498 Seventh Avenue, the landlord told The Real Deal.

CB Insights will relocate to the space in June from the building’s 17th floor, where for the past two years it’s occupied about 17,000 square feet on a sublease.

Jonathan Sherry, CB Insights’ co-founder and COO, said the company “has more than doubled team size and tripled revenue since laying foundation” at the address in 2016.

Asking rent for the new deal, which has a term of 11 years, was in the low $70s per square foot, according to George Comfort.

Drew Conner of the Dashrock Group represented CB Insights in the lease negotiations, while George Comfort & Sons’ Matt Coudert and Andy Conrad represented the landlord in-house.

George Comfort is in the midst of upgrading the 960,000-square-foot building at the corner of West 37th Street, including adding a new façade to the first two floors and a new building lobby.

Healthcare union 1199SEIU Healthcare Workers East and its benefit fund last year signed a lease for 580,000 square feet at the building, where they’ll have their own private entrance.

Earlier this year, trucking-logistics startup Transfix signed a direct lease with the landlord for 60,000 square feet.

The building’s ownership, which includes JPMorgan Asset Management and Loeb Partners Realty, sold a $150 million stake last year to MetLife in a deal valuing the property at roughly $700 million.