TIAA-CREF’s 685 Third Avenue adds consulting firm

Pension fund giant TIAA-CREF’s 685 Third Avenue in Midtown East is gaining a financial communications consulting firm.

Integrated Corporate Relations signed a 10-year lease for 22,372 square feet — the full second floor at the 31-story, 635,000-square-foot building. It is paying $50 per square foot to start, though asking rent was $55 per square foot. In 2010, TIAA-CREF bought the building near 44th Street and sought to overhaul the lobby and pocket park.

At the firm’s current New York office at 825 Third Avenue, it pays in the mid-$40s per square foot for a 10,804-square-foot sublease.

Cushman & Wakefield broker Kevin Daly represented the tenant, while a CBRE leasing quartet of Zachary Freeman, Anthony Dattoma, Paul Amrich and Howard Fiddle represented the landlord, the New York Observer reported.

In May, Crain Communications snatched up 57,000 square feet on the ninth and 10th floor, as previously reported. [NYO] — Mark Maurer