Connecticut hedge fund takes 20K sf at SL Green’s 711 Third Avenue

Ellington Management Group plants flag in Midtown East

SL Green’s Marc Holliday and 711 Third Avenue. (SL Green)
SL Green’s Marc Holliday and 711 Third Avenue. (SL Green)

Not everyone’s moving to Florida: A Connecticut hedge fund has inked a new lease in Midtown East.

Ellington Management Group signed the lease to take 19,600 square feet on the fifth floor of SL Green Realty’s 711 Third Avenue, the landlord announced. The building, between East 44th and East 45th streets, is a short walk from Grand Central Terminal and has a 165-car parking garage.

Founded by Michael Veranos in 1994, Ellington is headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut. It also has an office in London, according to the firm’s website. No one at Ellington was immediately available for comment.

Steven Durels, SL Green’s executive vice president and director of leasing and real property, said in a written statement that the transaction “comes on the heels of several recent new leases” within the company’s portfolio.

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That’s a positive sign for Manhattan’s office market, which has been struggling since the onset of the pandemic and the work-from-home transition. The borough’s office availability rate in April reached 16.5 percent, the highest it has ever been, according to Colliers International.

But tenants are finally re-entering the market as they get ready to bring employees back to their offices, Durels said.

Cushman & Wakefield’s Steve Baker and Andrew Ross represented the tenant in the deal.