New York Market Overview

Park Avenue office space has been sought after as finance tenants seek out space. Availability in the submarket was down to 8% in July, far below the average availability rate of 22% for the rest of the city.

NYC administration is bracing for “funding and policy risks” under a Trump administration.

7% of the city’s $112 billion budget for fiscal year 2025 is from federal grants. Loss of federal funding could have negative implications for housing and infrastructure.

Office:

As more companies call employees back to the office, the Manhattan leasing market is looking more like its old self. Office leasing volume was up almost 50% from a year ago, driven by Bloomberg’s 925,000-square-foot extension and expansion at 919 Third Avenue and a few other large deals.

Manhattan’s availability rate fell from 17.3 to 16.8%, the lowest in two years. Sublet supply also tightened, dropping to its lowest level since January 2022.

Midtown accounted for nearly 60% of the month’s leasing activity, even though the market represents only about 45% of Manhattan’s inventory. If leasing continues at the current pace, Midtown’s year would be its strongest since 2018.

Overall leasing volume remains well below 2019 levels, when the Manhattan market notched 43 million square feet of leasing activity. About 27 million square feet have been leased so far this year.

1. NYU reached a deal to masterlease the 1.1 million square feet of office in the building at 770 Broadway. The deal should close in January. NYU will make an upfront rent payment “sufficient” to pay off the $700 million loan on the property. NYU will then pay annual net rent over the lease term. The lease works out to less than $100 per foot. Meta still has 500,000 square feet at 770 Broadway. Vornado will still control the retail space occupied by Wegmans, which signed a long-term lease.
2. Bloomberg leased nearly 750,000 square feet at 919 Third Avenue.
3. Ropes & Gray signed a 430,000 SF deal at 1285 Sixth Avenue and could later expand to more than 500,000 SF. The law firm signed a 20-year lease. It has more than 500 lawyers in the city.
4. TPG will take 301,276 square feet over eight high floors at 66 Hudson Boulevard. An insider said the move is a 20,000-square-foot expansion for the company.
5. Blue Owl Capital’s 239,000-square-foot extension and expansion at 375 Park Avenue.
6. Publicis Groupe is subleasing 98,000 SF at 1675 Broadway to Gen II Fund Services for its global headquarters, leaving behind its 48,000 SF space at 805 Third Avenue.
7. Churchill Asset Management has signed for 78,000 SF at 375 Park Avenue, expanding from 52,000 SF.
8. The Brazilian government renewed and expanded its lease at the Daily News Building. It has three leases that total 65,000 SF and are split among three entities across floors 26, 32, 33, 34 and part of the ground floor. The Federative Republic of Brazil leased 30,000 SF in the building, while the Brazilian Mission to the United States leased 23,000 SF and the Brazilian Financial Office leased 12,000 SF. The lease term is 10 years.
9. The New York State Executive Chamber has signed a seven-year lease for 53,000 square feet at 919 Third Avenue for the building’s 40th and 45th floors. Rent will be about $274,000 per month for the lease’s first year.
10. Global Trading Systems is moving into 35,000 SF at 625 Sixth Avenue for a 15-year term, relocating from 30,000 SF at 545 Madison Avenue. Asking rents were $85 per SF.
11. Rising Ground signs a lease for $27,000 for a 15-year lease at 111 Livingston Street.
12. Criteo signed a 10-year lease extension for 21,000 SF at 387 Park Avenue South. Work-focused members club, The Malin, recently opened in the building, offering 20,000 SF to its members on the building’s fifth floor as of last month.
13. Pallas is expanding to 14,000 SF across the entire 27th floor at $102 per SF at 75 Rockefeller Plaza. NCH Capital signed for 5,000 SF on the 19th floor for 10 years. Guidehouse signed for 45,000 SF across the ninth and 10th floors at $80 per SF.
14. RXR Realty signed renewals with two tenants totaling 21,000 SF at 37-18 Northern Blvd. in Long Island City. Grace is renewing its 13,000 SF lease for another five years. Rimowa signed for 8,000 SF, expanding from 5,000 SF.
15. DAZN signed a lease for a 10,000 RSF office space at 470 Park Avenue South.

Retail:

A “flurry of leases” along the Broadway corridor in Soho has helped drive down availability. Rents increase 35% year over year to $679 per square foot. Average pricing on the corridor has risen above $600 per square foot to a level not seen since 2017.

Vibe Fitness inks a deal for 55,000 sf across three floors at 10-04 Borden Avenue in Queens. The initial lease term is 10 years and the average asking rent at the complex was $65 per square foot.

Michael Kors at 667 Madison Avenue has doubled its size and now occupies 11,000 square feet. The monthly rent remains almost the same, resulting in a 49% discount from the previous rental rate and will continue through 2034.