Office leasing in Manhattan

• Midtown office leasing slowed in February with 1,260,000 square feet in leases inked, down 36 percent from the month before but up 27 percent year-over-year. The availability rate dipped to 11.7 percent, while the average asking rent rose to $87.29. The submarket and the city’s top deal went to Debevoise & Plimpton once again, this time for a 474,398-square-foot renewal at SL Green’s 919 Third Avenue, across the island from the law firm’s future Hudson Yards headquarters.

• Midtown South saw 200,000 square feet in leases inked in February, down nearly half from the month before and 20 percent year-over-year. The availability rate rose to 10.6 percent, and the average asking rent rose to $86.33 per square foot. The submarket’s largest deal went to e-commerce company Shopify, which inked a new 24,430-square-foot lease at Steven Elghanayan’s 148 Lafayette Street.

• Lower Manhattan office leasing bounced back in February with 630,000 square feet in leases inked, up 58 percent from the month before and up 40 percent year-over-year. The availability rate dipped to 12.1 percent, and the average asking rent fell to $62.93 per square foot. The largest deal in this submarket went to the New York State government, which signed a 452,628-square-foot renewal at Piedmont Office Realty Trust’s 60 Broad Street.

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