By Al Barbarino 4/16 8:00am

1Q13

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Which Way is Up: Manhattan’s Market Boundaries are Beginning to Blur

From the outside, 222 Broadway fits the stereotype of the Downtown financial office tower.

But when Bank of America downsized, leaving roughly 250,000 square feet of space vacant, a series of tours guided by its new owner, L&L Holdings, quickly blasted that stereotype away.

Condé Nast committed to 80,000 square feet at the tower in early March. WeWork, which provides collaborative workspace for tech and media companies, was next in line. Read More

By Billy Gray 3/28 8:00am

Lease Beat

195 Broadway

Ad Firm Omnicom Expands–Again–At 195 Broadway, Brings Total to 295,295 Square Feet

The advertising agency Omnicom continued to build on its Lower Manhattan footprint by leasing an additional 26,414 square feet at 195 Broadway, The Commercial Observer has learned.  The firm now occupies 295,294 square feet in the 29-story, 1.1-million-square-foot tower, which is now 100 percent occupied.

Lee Feld of Feld Real Estate represented the tenant. David C. Berkey and Andrew Wiener represented the building owner, L&L Holding Company, in-house. Asking rent was $47 per square foot. Read More

By Billy Gray 3/13 3:55pm

Lease Beat

222 Broadway

WeWork Leases 120,537 Square Feet at 222 Broadway, Builds Momentum of “Downtown North”

The collaborative workspace provider WeWork signed a 16-year, 120,537-square-foot lease at 222 Broadway, The Commercial Observer has learned.

David Berkey and Andrew Wiener represented the building owner L&L Holding Company in-house. Mark Lapidus of WeWork and Sean Black of Jones Lang LaSalle represented the tenant. Asking rents at 222 Broadway are in the mid-$50 per square foot range.

WeWork typically provides communal office space to tech and new media companies, making the lease another sign of Lower Manhattan’s growing appeal to that type of firm. Mr. Berkey was quick to point out that tech and media tenants are “nothing new” in the neighborhood.

“I’ve been telling whoever will listen that for two years now we’ve seen nothing but this kind of tenant here and at [L&L's] 195 Broadway,” Mr. Berkey said. “We haven’t seen financial services or law firm tenants. It’s not a new phenomenon by any stretch.” Read More

By Al Barbarino 2/11 12:19pm

Market Reports

(Credit: Michael Nagle/Getty)

Midtown South Landlords Rule With Iron Fist Despite Spike in Availability

Despite a fair share of new product hitting the Midtown South market in January, landlords continued to call the shots, seeking ever-growing rents in the city’s epicenter for tech and creative companies, the latest data from Cushman & Wakefield shows.

The data shows that total space increased year-over-year in January by 9.8 percent to more than 4.52 million square feet, yet average rents also increased by 10.7 percent to $50.61 per square foot.

The boost in available product was pronounced among Class A and Class B properties, with 41.03 and 47.1 percent increases, respectively.

“It is still a landlord’s market even though that space has come online,” said Ken McCarthy, C&W’s chief economist.  “Anyone adding space to the market is asking higher rents.” Read More

By Carl Gaines 5/01/12 1:43pm

Power Broker

Brad Gerla.

Speak Softly and Carry a Big Stick

As leasing agent for some of Manhattan’s most iconic buildings, CBRE executive vice president Brad Gerla has access to some impressive real estate—like J.P. Morgan’s former pied-à-terre on the 31st floor of 14 Wall Street or the neo-Gothic inner workings of the Woolworth Building at 233 Broadway.

So it was strange to chat with him one recent rainy morning in a nondescript conference room in an equally nondescript–dare we say blah–office, save for the fact that the conference room was nestled inside the former MetLife headquarters at 11 Madison Avenue. Read More

By Daniel Edward Rosen 4/11/12 8:30am

Lease of the Week

200 Hudson Street.

French Kiss: The Romance Between Trinity Real Estate and Parisian Advertising Behemoth Havas, Revealed!

On the first day of March, Havas chief executive officer David Jones joined a conference call and webcast with the press to announce his company’s 2011 financial results.

For Havas, a French marketing services group owned by billionaire Vincent Bolloré, the year was a good one. Its revenue grew 5.4 percent to $2.2 billion, 23 percent of which came from digital and social media activity.

Then, the English businessman told the media and, in effect, the world that beginning on Sept. 1, Havas would be rebranding Euro RSCG, the largest firm in Havas’s portfolio, as Havas Worldwide. Read More