September was a step up from August for New York City’s office scene, with 820,500 square feet of leasing across the top 10 deals made public. Almost half of that total comes from WeWork’s new lease at 437 Madison Avenue, which is more than three times the size of the next largest lease on the list. Other big tenants on the list include law firms, branding agencies and flexible office space provider and notable WeWork competitor Knotel.
The total square footage of September’s top 10 office leases almost double that of August’s. Last month’s top 10 office leases totaled 820,500 square feet, compared to August’s total of 464,100. The total is still a step down year over year. The top 10 office leasing deals of September 2018 totaled about 1.1 million square feet.
1) WeWork, 437 Madison Avenue, Plaza District – 362,197 square feet
The news of the co-working firm’s easecame almost at the same time as it announced the delay of its IPO (which has since been rescinded). Peter Riguardi and Howard Hersch of JLL represented the tenant while Michael Lenchner of Sage Realty Corporation represented the landlord, the William Kaufman Organization, alongside Frank Doyle, David Kleiner, Cynthia Wasserberger, Hayley Shoener and Harlan Webster of JLL.
2) Kelley Drye & Warren, 3 World Trade Center, Financial District – 103,000 square feet
The almost two-century-old law firm inked a 15-year lease at 3 World Trade Center. Kelley Drye & Warren is relocating from 101 Park Avenue and will open its new office in the fall of 2020. Patrick Heeg and Ryan McKinney of Transwestern represented the tenant while Jeremy Moss and Camille McGratty of Silverstein Properties represented the landlord in-house, alongside Mary Ann Tighe, Ken Meyerson, Adam Foster, Evan Haskell, Steven Eynon, David Caperna and Rob Hill of CBRE.
3) Davis & Gilbert LLP, 1675 Broadway, Midtown West – 86,000 square feet
The law firm signed a lease for space at the Gensler-designed 1675 Broadway, relocating from 1740 Broadway. Lewis Miller, Scott Gottlieb, Brian Gell and Michael Wellen of CBRE represented the tenant while Robert Steinman of Rudin Management represented the landlord, the Rudin family.
4) Global Infrastructure Partners, 1345 Sixth Avenue, Midtown West – 84,653 square feet
The private equity firm renewed and expanded its lease, almost doubling its presence in the building where it’s had office space since last year. Robert Martin and Dan Santagata of JLL represented the tenant while Peter Riguardi, Alexander Chudnoff, Cynthia Wasserberger, Benjamin Bass and Betsy Buckley of JLL represented the landlord, Fisher Brothers.
5) thelab, 175 Pearl Street, Dumbo – 42,452 square feet
The Australian branding agency trading Chelsea for Dumbo. Adam Henick and Brandon Charnas of Current Real Estate Advisors represented the tenant on the 15-year lease while Neil King of CBRE represented the landlord, Normandy Real Estate Partners.
6) General Atlantic Service Company, 55 East 52nd Street, Plaza District – 31,202 square feet
The private equity firm expanded its lease, bringing its total presence in the building to over 90,000 square feet. The firm is a noted backer of Airbnb. Robert Martin of JLL represented the tenant while Marc Packman and Clark Briffel of Fisher Brothers represented the landlord in-house.
7) Aetion, 5 Penn Plaza, Penn Plaza – 29,000 square feet
The health care tech company inked a 10-year lease. Puma and HLW Architecture both have offices of the same size in the building. Douglas Regal, Jamie Katcher and Sebastian Infante of Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant, while Peter Turchin, Jason Pollen and David Caperna of CBRE represented the landlord, Haymes Investment Company.
8) Marquee Brands, 330 West 34th Street, Penn Plaza – 27,811 square feet
The marketing and media company’s lease at Penn Plaza was handled by Mitchell Konsker, Alexander Chudnoff, Benjamin Bass and Harrison Potter of JLL represented the tenant while Josh Glick and Jared Silverman of Vornado Realty Trust represented the landlord in-house.
9) Knotel, 240 West 35th Street, Penn Plaza – 27,186 square feet
The flexible-office space provider (and recently-crowned unicorn) also picked up space at Penn Plaza. Douglas Regal, Jamie Katcher, and Sebastian Infante of Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant while Colin Godwin and John Cinosky of ATCO Properties & Management represented the landlord in-house.
10) MWWPR, 1250 Broadway, Garment District – 27,040 square feet
The PR firm inked a 15-year lease. Alexander Chudnoff, Benjamin Bass and Kristen Morgan of JLL represented the tenant while Paul Glickman, Mitchell Konsker, Diana Biasotti and Harley Dalton of JLL represented the landlord, Global Holdings Management Group.