Paramount Group inked Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati to a 119,000-square-foot, 16.5-year lease at 31 West 52nd Street, the landlord announced. The law firm will occupy the fifth through eighth floors of the Midtown building.
The asking rent was not disclosed. Colliers reported that the average asking rent in Midtown was $78.35 per square foot in the first quarter, the lowest mark since June 2015.
Paramount did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Another law firm, Pillsbury Winthrop, signed a deal for 90,000 square feet at the building in 2018. Holland & Knight is also a law firm tenant there.
Wilson Sonsini’s arrival will fill some of the space in the 768,000-square-foot, 29-story building being vacated by Clifford Chance, which leases roughly 190,000 square feet but has left for Brookfield Properties’ 2 Manhattan West. The law firm signed a lease last year for 144,000 square feet at the Hudson Yards tower, in a move reflective of tenants’ desire to downsize and relocate to ultra-modern, amenity-filled buildings.
Clifford Chance’s lease with Paramount isn’t set to expire until June 2024. It’s the biggest lease coming off the books at the West 52nd Street building next year.
Despite hybrid work and competition from Hudson Yards, Midtown was the only neighborhood in Manhattan to record a first-quarter increase in leasing volume year-over-year, according to a report from Colliers. The district has been helped by proximity to Grand Central Terminal, which took on increased importance to office tenants during the pandemic.
Wilson Sonsini, based in Palo Alto, California, is the Bay Area’s largest law firm by headcount. Last year it re-upped through 2039 at its headquarters, where it leases 190,000 square feet from CommonWealth Partners at the Stanford Research Park.
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