As it gets ready to go public, the fast-growing meal-delivery startup Blue Apron took another 25,000 square feet of office space in Midtown South, a temporary solution as the $2 billion company continues to look for a new headquarters where it can consolidate its offices in the city.
Blue Apron last month amended its sublease with the online-advertising startup AppNexus to take an additional 25,000 square feet through 2019 at 40 West 23rd Street in the Flatiron District, according to public filings and sources. The financial terms of the deal were not immediately clear, but AppNexus has previously been asking in the $60s per square foot for sublease space in the building.
A representative for Blue Apron could not be immediately reached for comment.
AppNexus occupies several floors in the building, most recognizable as the location of the neighborhood’s 100,000-square-foot-plus Home Depot store, and has been subletting space to fellow tech companies hungry for room to grow. It subleased 25,000 square feet to bottle maker S’Well in March.
Blue Apron, which has its principal offices at 5 Crosby Street in Soho, signed a sublease at the building with AppNexus last summer for 43,000 square feet. The deal was a short-term Band-Aid for the fast-growing company as it searches for a new headquarters in the range of 100,000 square feet.
Blue Apron plans to raise up to $100 million through an initial public offering, though the amount is subject to change.
The company is the latest unicorn whose foray into the public markets is pushing demand for office space. Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, in late April signed a deal to expand its offices at 229 West 43rd Street by another 26,000 square feet.