Private equity firm relocating from Lever House to Third Avenue

In the latest development out of the Lever House, one of the tenants at the challenged property is relocating.

Private equity firm Wellspring Capital Management is relocating from RFR’s iconic Park Avenue building to the top-floor penthouse at Fisher Brothers’ 605 Third Avenue.

Wellspring signed a 15-year lease for just shy of 15,000 square feet on the office tower’s entire penthouse floor, the landlord told The Real Deal.

Fisher Brothers Partner Winston Fisher said the space’s “abundant natural light and striking panoramic views” were strong selling points.

Fisher Brothers declined to comment on the asking rent for the space, but a source with knowledge of the property said it was in the $80s per square foot.

Michael Geoghegan and Paul Stimpfle of CBRE represented the tenant. An Cushman & Wakefield agency team of Bruce Mosler, Louis D’Avanzo, Andrew Ross, Michael Baraldi and Maria Travlos negotiated the deal on behalf of Fisher Brothers alongside an in-house team of Marc Packman and Clark Briffel.

It wasn’t clear whether Wellspring was on a direct lease with RFR at the Lever House or on a sublease, or how much term it had left at the property. A source said Wellspring occupies about 10,000 square feet.

Wellspring’s departure could be indicative of troubles at the landmarked property at 390 Park Avenue, or could present an opportunity for RFR to steady the ship.

RFR owns the building but not the land underneath, and is facing a rent reset in 2023. Its rent is set to jump from $6.15 million to a figure that has been estimated at more than $20 million.

In July, Brookfield Properties and Waterman Interests announced that they took over the ground lease at the Lever House, though no further details were revealed.