SL Green Teams Up With Hyundai On 15 Laight Street

Hyundai is teaming up with SL Green to lease a Tribeca office building.

The Korean automaker bought the building on Laight between Varick Street and St. Johns Lane in 2023 for $247 million amid a sputtering leasing market. SL Green invested in 15 Laight Street through its $1.3 billion debt platform and picked up an asset management assignment on the 109,000-square-foot building.

Hyundai, which never moved into the property, is looking to take advantage of the rising leasing market.

In 2022, Manhattan saw about 29 million square feet of office leases — 12 percent below the 10-year average. But the picture’s since improved. Last year saw just shy of 42 million square feet, according to Colliers, the highest amount since 2019.

SL Green and Hyundai have already received interest from several large tech firms that are interested in the space. The building is near major offices for Google and Disney, which are located just north of Canal Street in Hudson Square.

“Tribeca and Hudson Square are home to some of Manhattan’s most active creative, technology and media tenants, yet high-quality office supply remains meaningfully constrained,” said SL Green leasing director Steven Durels. “The submarket has emerged as one of the most sought-after office destinations for leading technology and financial services firms, driven in large part by its appeal to the next generation of talent these companies compete aggressively to attract and retain.

CBRE’s Doug Middleton represented Hyundai in the deal, while his colleague Ryan Alexander will oversee leasing alongside Durels. The Promote first reported SL Green’s talks to invest in the deal.

Vanbarton Group developed 15 Laight Street on the site of the former Tribeca Cinemas, a movie theater opened by Robert De Niro. The building has outdoor space on every floor, oversized windows and health-focused infrastructure.