Park Avenue Office Availability Now Under 9 Percent

In the Midtown office market, Park Avenue is the exception to the rule, new data show.

The availability rate in the prestigious office corridor is down to 8.9 percent, about half of Midtown’s 17.6 percent, the New York Post reported, citing data from Savills. The rate was 11 percent on Park Avenue in the fourth quarter of 2019, the last quarter before the pandemic.

Midtown is defined by Savills as bordered by 61st Street on the north, and on the south by East 34th and West 30th streets.

A number of big deals on Park Avenue in recent months have kept the market tight. Two of the three largest office leases in December were on the avenue: Insurance giant MetLife renewed its 400,000 square feet at Irvine Company and Tishman Speyer’s 200 Park Avenue, while PJT Partners renewed and expanded to 270,000 square feet at Vornado Realty Trust and SL Green’s 280 Park Avenue.

The corridor’s resilience is a promising sign for office projects in the works. RXR plans 2 million square feet at 175 Park Avenue above Grand Central Terminal. The public review process for a new tower at 350 Park Avenue, spearheaded by Vornado, Rudin and Citadel’s Ken Griffin, will start next year. That project is expected to deliver 1.8 million square feet across 62 stories and be anchored by Ken Griffin’s Citadel and affiliate Citadel Securities, which will occupy 850,000 square feet.

Not every part of Manhattan is faring as well. Broadway has the highest availability rate at 47.1 percent, while Third Avenue is struggling at 26.9 percent. (Space defined as available is not necessarily vacant.)

Overall, Manhattan office leasing appears to be picking up steam. In April, Colliers recorded increased leasing velocity across Midtown, Midtown South and Downtown, improving both month-over-month and year-over-year. Manhattan’s year-to-date activity reached 9.08 million square feet in April.

— Holden Walter-Warner