HSBC eyeing move to Tishman Speyer’s Spiral

Bank considering 250K sf lease for NY headquarters

Noel Quinn, chief executive, HSBC Group; renderings of 66 Hudson Blvd (HSBC, Tishman Speyer)
Noel Quinn, chief executive, HSBC Group; renderings of 66 Hudson Blvd (HSBC, Tishman Speyer)

The Spiral is nearing completion, but Tishman Speyer’s Hudson Yards tower is still looking to fill out its enormous office footprint with more tenants.

London-based bank HSBC is in discussions to lease about 250,000 square feet at the development for a local headquarters, Bloomberg reported. A source familiar with the negotiations told the outlet tere is still a chance talks fall through.

Tishman Speyer’s building at 66 Hudson Boulevard continues to reel in leases as the prized development comes closer to realization. Turner Construction recently agreed to lease 75,000 square feet at the building for 13 years, perhaps admiring its own work as general contractor of the tower.

Asking rents in the building reportedly ranged from $110 per square foot to $225 per square foot at the time of Turner Construction’s lease.

The Spiral, which sits between 34th and 35th streets, topped out last year at 1,041 feet tall. Bjarke Ingels is the designer of the building, which was 54 percent leased after Turner Construction locked in its deal in November.

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The 2.8 million-square-foot project has Pfizer as an anchor tenant with a lease of 746,000 square feet. Other tenants in the development include investment management firm AllianceBernstein and law firm Debevoise & Plimpton LLP.

HSBC has been plotting a reduction of its office space for a year. Group COO John Hinshaw said in an earnings call for 2020’s fourth quarter the company would switch to a hybrid working model. As part of the switch, the bank was expected to shed its real estate footprint by about 40 percent.

If HSBC signs a lease at the Spiral, the firm will be following in the footsteps of one of the biggest bank leases in recent years. It was reported last week Morgan Stanley will lease about 400,000 square feet at Park Avenue Plaza. Its 15-year lease will replace BlackRock, which is departing for a different Hudson Yards development.

[Bloomberg] — Holden Walter-Warner