Vornado Continues Winning Streak at Penn 2

The New York Knicks aren’t the only ones on a winning streak in the Penn District.

Steven Roth’s Vornado Realty Trust inked data firm Veeva Systems to a 62,000-square-foot lease at Penn 2, the Commercial Observer reported. The company, which works on software and artificial intelligence services for life sciences clients, will take the 11th floor of the building.

Veeva, based in San Francisco’s Bay Area, is relocating its New York offices from 1375 Broadway. The asking rent on its Penn 2 space was $110 per square foot and the lease is for 10 years.

Vornado’s Josh Glick and Jared Silverman handled the negotiations in-house, while Savills’ Jim Wenk and Kirill Azovtsev represented the tenant. Vornado declined to comment to the publication.

There’s been a flurry of activity at Penn 2 in recent months. In November, mobile banking company Current signed a 10-year lease for a little more than 62,000 square feet on the 23rd floor of Penn 2; the asking rent was $125 per square foot.

Data security firm AvePoint signed an 8,000-square-foot lease in March, while French consulting company Capgemini signed a deal for 43,000 square feet at the end of last year.

Communications and consulting firm FGS Global recently signed a 15-year lease for 80,000 square feet at Penn 2. Last summer, Verizon inked a 200,000-square-foot lease with plans to move its headquarters to the 1.8 million-square-foot building, formerly known as 2 Penn Plaza.

Other tenants include Madison Square Garden’s corporate offices, Major League Soccer and Universal Music Group.

Penn 2 recently underwent a $750 million renovation aimed at attracting blue-chip tenants. The 31-story tower was 78 percent leased after Current’s deal.

The Manhattan office market is on pace for its best year since 2000, according to Colliers: 4.2 million square feet were leased last month, bringing the year-to-date volume to 19.6 million square feet.

— Holden Walter-Warner