Education firm Kaplan takes two floors at 5 Columbus Circle

Building will soon share Nordstrom flagship with Central Park Tower

Kaplan CEO Andrew S. Rosen and 5 Columbus Circle
Kaplan CEO Andrew S. Rosen and 5 Columbus Circle

Kaplan International, a provider of standardized test prep and language education services, is expanding its operations in New York City.

The company has signed a lease for 25,000 square feet on floors 4 and 5 of 5 Columbus Circle, a landmarked French modern style building also known as 1790 Broadway, the building’s landlords told The Real Deal. The 20-story office building is owned by a partnership that includes members of the families of shipping magnate Spiros Milonas and friend John Catsmatidis.

Sources told TRD that the space would be used for educational rather than administrative purposes. Kaplan’s existing educational spaces in NYC include an English language school on the 63rd floor of the Empire State Building.

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A JLL team of Scott Panzer and Shannon Rzeznikiewicz represented the tenant in the deal, while JLL’s Harley Dalton represented the landlord.

Other tenants at the building include Columbia University Fertility Center and Northwell Health. The ground floor of the building will soon be home to part of Nordstrom’s new NYC flagship, whose footprint will also include 1778 Broadway, 3 Columbus Circle and Extell Development’s Central Park Tower.

The owners, operating as 1790 Broadway Associates LLC, first acquired the former U.S. Rubber Co. Building in 1985. In 2006, the partners were reported to be marketing the property for a residential conversion, asking $1,200 per square foot – or more than $300 million total.