Tech services firm takes 77K sf at Durst’s 1155 Sixth Avenue

Global Relay USA moving from 286 Madison Avenue

Durst Organization's Jonathan Durst and 1155 Sixth Avenue (1155 Avenue of the Americas, Durst Organization)
Durst Organization's Jonathan Durst and 1155 Sixth Avenue (1155 Avenue of the Americas, Durst Organization)

The Durst Organization has reeled in another tenant at 1155 Sixth Avenue after a $130 million makeover, a shot in the arm for Manhattan’s beleaguered office market.

Technology services provider Global Relay USA, a division of a Canadian firm, recently signed a deal to lease more than 77,000 square feet at the 42-story building, the New York Post reported. The firm is making the move from 286 Madison Avenue.

Global Relay is set to lease floors 38 through 42, a block of the building known as the 1155 Sixth Apex. The top floor was previously a mechanical space, but has been converted into a penthouse pavilion with a wraparound terrace and a glass curtain wall that tints during the day to minimize glare, according to the Post.

The asking rent for Global Relay’s bottom four floors was $115 per square foot, according to the Post, while the 42nd floor went for $150 per square foot. The duration of the lease is not clear.

Durst was represented by an in-house team including Tom Bow and Rocco Romeo. Global Relay was represented by a Colliers team including Michael Cohen and Howard Kaplowitz.

About 200,000 square feet of leases have been signed at the building in the past 12 months, according to the Post. The 740,000-square-foot building between West 44th and West 45th streets has pushed its occupancy past 70 percent.

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The building recently underwent a $130 million capital improvement project, more than 30 years after its opening in 1984. Changes to the building included an upgraded lobby, windows and elevator cabs.

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Last year, Jenner & Block agreed to a 15-year, 67,000-square-foot lease at the tower to occupy floors 29 through 32. The well-known law firm downsized by more than 20,000 square feet from SL Green’s 919 Third Avenue.

Perkins Coie, another law firm, signed a lease in 2018 for about 60,000 square feet at 1155 Sixth Avenue. The term of the lease was also 15 years and the asking rent for the space was around $80 per square foot.

[NYP] — Holden Walter-Warner