Attorney General’s office looking for new NYC digs

The New York state Attorney General’s office is on the hunt for a new home in the Financial District, as the expiration of its lease at Silverstein Properties’ 120 Broadway looms.

Late last year, the agency tapped CBRE to help secure a new 15-year lease for as much as 250,000 square feet holding more than 900 employees, according to a document from the state Office of General Services.

So far, the state has checked out space at 28 Liberty Street and 180 Maiden Lane, two office towers also in the Financial District, according to sources familiar with negotiations. Asking rents at both buildings start in the low $50s per square foot. But 28 Liberty has a higher price point – $80s per square foot – for higher floors than 180 Maiden Lane, where rents reach as much as $70 per square foot.

The agency wants a lease that begins in late 2017 or early 2018, preferably at a building south of Canal Street, the state document shows. The space requirements include 130,000 square feet designated for physical office space. Of the 130,000 square feet, 60 percent would be for enclosed private offices and 40 percent for an open plan layout with modular workstations.

Since 1986, the Attorney General’s office has housed its New York City operations at the landmarked 40-story, 1.9 million-square-foot Equitable Building at 120 Broadway. Its lease, currently for nearly 390,000 square feet across eight floors, expires Dec. 31, 2018, according to CoStar data.

Average asking rent at 120 Broadway is $45 per square foot. Other tenants at the Class A office building include insurance firm Tower Group and the Parish of Trinity Church.

CBRE’s Scott Gottlieb and Bruce Surry are representing the state in the search. CBRE declined to comment, as did the AG’s office.

The agency’s main office, led by Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, is located in the New York State Capitol building in Albany.

Adam Pincus contributed reporting.