Eyal Ofer’s Global Holdings Lands AI Tenant At 25 Kent

An AI startup with a housing stipend is swapping Long Island City for Williamsburg’s waterfront.

Voice analytics company Rilla inked a 57,000-square-foot lease at Global Holdings’ 25 Kent in one of the borough’s biggest office deals of the past year. The AI company will occupy the entire eighth-floor penthouse, along with nearly 4,000 square feet of private outdoor space, the landlord announced.

The 10-year lease pushes occupancy at the eight-story building to 72 percent. The asking rent was $76 per square foot.

Newmark’s Cooper Weisman and Ryan Gessin represented Rilla in the deal. The landlord was represented in-house by Craig Panzirer and Alex Radmin, along with Newmark’s Jordan Gosin, Will Grover and Drew Wiley.

Rilla will move its 160 employees from Long Island City. CEO Sebastian Jimenez made news this summer when he announced the company was covering up to $1,500 per month in rent for employees who lived close to its Long Island City office (the company defines “close” as within a 10-minute bike ride). Rilla follows a 9-9-6 work schedule, meaning employees work 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week.

A company representative said Jimenez will be moving to Williamsburg and employees can choose whether or not they want to relocate closer to the office to receive the rent stipend.

The lease marks a win for the borough, where office landlords have struggled to fill the glut of new buildings built over the last two decades. Buildings like the Refinery at Domino and 25 Kent are attracting AI and tech tenants, though most deals so far have been small to mid-sized.

“Brooklyn has become one of the most dynamic and creative technology hubs in the country, and 25 Kent sits at the center of that transformation,” said Craig Panzirer, Global Holding’s senior vice president and director of leasing.

Rubenstein Partners co-developed the 500,000-square-foot project with Toby Moskovits’ Heritage Equity Partners, billing it as the borough’s first ground-up commercial development in more than four decades. In 2018, Eyal Ofer’s firm made a preferred-equity investment of $100 million.

The building opened to tenants in 2019 and streetwear brand Kith signed on as an anchor tenant. Global Holdings took over management of the building in April and landed recent lease deals from e-commerce company Queen One, Five Iron Golf and Autonomous Technologies Group.