KnitWell Expands Lease at 7 Times Square

Boston Properties locked in a long-term lease extension with a prominent fashion and apparel company in Times Square, one that includes much more space.

KnitWell Group — the parent company of brands including Ann Taylor, Chico’s, Lane Bryant and LOFT — signed a 20-year lease for 246,000 square feet at 7 Times Square, the landlord announced. The lease adds another 55,000 square feet to KnitWell’s existing 191,000-square-foot space.

KnitWell will occupy two additional floors at the 1.3-million-square-foot building, at the intersection of 42nd Street and Broadway — the “Crossroads of the World.” The asking rent wasn’t disclosed, though the Commercial Observer has previously pegged an asking rent of $80 per square foot at the property.

A CBRE team including Eric Deutsch and Ken Meyerson represented the tenant in the lease negotiations. It’s not clear who represented the landlord.

BXP recently added amenities to the property, including conference space, a client lounge and cafe services. Other tenants at 7 Times Square include Japanese trading firm GSI Exim America, law firm Friedman Kaplan, and private plane renters Flewber.

Nearby, the American Strategic Investment Company recently sold 9 Times Square for $63.5 million. The property near Seventh Avenue features both office and retail space.

Manhattan’s office leasing market appeared to turn a corner last year and is sustaining that momentum with a few large leases at the start of this year. Office leasing volume exceeded 30 million square feet for the year in November, according to Colliers, the first time that benchmark was hit since 2019.

“That is one of the critical milestones that the market has been waiting on for quite some time,” said Colliers’ Franklin Wallach, who authored the report.

The availability rate in November tightened to 16.7 percent, the lowest since September 2022, while sublet supply hit 18.3 million square feet, the lowest since January 2022.