NYC DOT Inks 212K SF in Long Island City

A former office property recently reverted to industrial use secured a tenant for more than half its space.

New York City’s Department of Transportation signed a lease for 212,000 square feet at 47-25 34th Street in Long Island City, the Commercial Observer reported. The Queens property is owned by a joint venture of Metropolitan Realty Associates and Nuveen.

The length and asking rent for the deal were not disclosed. In the first quarter, the average asking rent for industrial space in the city’s outer boroughs was $27.85 per square foot, according to Colliers.

NYC DOT will use the space to store vehicles and equipment, as well as for administrative offices. The 343,000-square-foot building is approximately 78 percent leased.

A CBRE team including John Reinertsen, Yun Park and Doug Holowink represented the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, which manages the leasing process for city agencies. Newmark’s Scott Klau and Ryan Gessin represented the landlord.

The joint venture purchased the then-office building from Brickman in 2016 for $90 million, planning to modernize it. Brickman had purchased the property two years earlier for a much cheaper $60 million.

But in recent years, ownership reverted a large chunk of the building back into industrial space, a previous use of the site.

DCAS is in the midst of searching for as many as five new brokerages to represent it on office leases and acquisitions on behalf of the city government, issuing a request for proposals last month. Cushman and CBRE were tapped for the job in 2017, but CBRE’s Diana Boutross became a source of controversy over questions related to her qualifications for the role.

The RFP includes language specifying the qualifications needed for the contract, as well as a requirement to disclose applicable brokers’ ties to the city government.

— Holden Walter-Warner