By Gus Delaporte 4/02 9:00am

The Sit-Down

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Boston Legal: Andrew Levin On 250 West 55th Street

With eight buildings totaling close to nine million square feet across a number of submarkets, Boston Properties is one of the largest owners of real estate in Midtown. Andrew Levin, senior vice president of leasing in the real estate investment trust’s New York office, has his finger on the pulse of the market. He spoke with The Commercial Observer last week about leasing trends in Midtown and Boston Properties’ development of 250 West 55th Street, which will open in fall 2013. Read More

By Al Barbarino 3/13 8:00am

Development

wagon

Midtown’s Westward Expansion Offers a Modern Crack at Manifest Destiny

Like the westward expansion that gripped the nation during the early to mid-1800′s, the expansion of Midtown Manhattan offers the city’s commercial real estate pioneers a modern crack at manifest destiny.

The trajectory of Midtown’s new building stock over the last seven decades tells a story of westward expansion that most recently struck Midtown West with the Hudson Yards development project.

“Hudson Yards really is the last frontier,” said James Delmonte, principal and vice president of research at Avison Young.  “Firms are looking for newer product and larger floor plates, largely because there really is no available land on the east side.” Read More

By Karsten Strauss 1/08 7:00am

4Q12

4Q12 for web

Weathering the Storm: 4th Quarter Leasing Saw Improvements

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Times of change and uncertainty are always worrisome for investors—fear takes hold, spending is called into question and valuations become unpredictable.

Mix an election season with the impending threat of a potentially devastating fiscal cliff, then throw in a destructive, rogue tropical storm named Sandy, and you’ve created an environment that is not conducive to a stellar business quarter for the commercial market.

However, thanks to tax law-motivated sales and retail—as well as a handful of big end-of-year leasing deals—the fourth quarter ended on a relatively positive note, despite a slowdown in leasing activity. Read More

By Al Barbarino 12/27/12 9:15pm

Lease Beat

microsoft_logo1

Microsoft Inks 3rd Biggest Deal of 2012

Months of negotiations between SPJ Properties and Microsoft have finally paid off, with the tech giant signing a 230,000-square-foot lease at its new Midtown headquarters at 11 Times Square – and solidifying one of the top leasing deals of the year.

The company eyed the new space for months, as rumors swirled it would be vacating Vornado’s 1290 Avenue of the Americas, and last month transaction is the third biggest non-renewal leasing transaction of 2012. Read More

By Al Barbarino 11/16/12 11:47am

Lease Beat

microsoft_logo

Negotiations Over Signage Delay Microsoft Deal

Negotiations over outdoor signage at 11 Times Square, among other issues, has delayed a deal between SPJ Properties and Microsoft expected today, sources told The Commercial Observer.

After eyeing the space for months, the company was shuffling papers around this week with owner SPJ Properties to get the deal completed; but the signing of a letter of intent, which sources said was scheduled to happen today, likely won’t be completed until after Thanksgiving, said people familiar with the deal.

The 16-year lease is for 260,000 square feet across floors four through 11, at a rate in the low $60’s, a broker who reviewed a preliminary version of the lease said. Read More

By Michael Ewing 11/07/12 7:45am

Midtown

West Side Boundaries.

Migration to Hudson Yards Predicted

The West Side of Midtown has increased its presence in the commercial real estate market within the past 20 years. The market now boasts a vacancy rate below 10 percent across all assets.

“To understand this market, it’s important to view it in the context of the history of the last 25 years,” explained Mitch Arkin, an executive director at Cushman & Wakefield. “In the ’80s, the market started pushing west with the development of Carnegie Hall Tower, the Equitable Building, 787 Seventh Avenue, followed by 1585 Broadway, 1540 Broadway, 750 Seventh Avenue, Worldwide Plaza, 1745 Broadway [and] Metropolitan Tower. Those buildings all brought Eighth Avenue and Broadway north of Times Square into Midtown.” Read More

By Daniel Geiger 8/02/12 7:00am

Lease Beat

11 Times Square

Microsoft Bumped From 250 West 55th Street

Microsoft has been bumped from 250 West 55th Street, leaving it with two likely space possibilities: a renewal deal at its current home at 1290 Avenue of the Americas or a relocation to 11 Times Square several sources familiar with the company say.

The company had been in advanced talks to take space at the Read More

By Daniel Geiger 7/20/12 12:50pm

Lease Beat

1301 Avenue of the Americas

Chadbourne To Take Space At 1301 6th

Chadbourne & Parke LLP is going forward with a deal to move its headquarters to 1301 Avenue of the Americas, several sources have told The Commercial Observer.

The law firm had been shopping around the Manhattan market for months in search of a new home, coming close to leases at One World Trade Center and 230 Park Avenue only to pull away and resume its search. Read More

By Carl Gaines 7/05/12 12:45pm

Lease Beat

250 West 50th Street.

Boston Properties’ 250 West 55th Street Draws More Legal Eagles

According to reports, law firm Kaye Scholer will be on the move once its new digs at 250 West 55th Street are completed. The law firm has signed a letter of intent for about 260,000-square feet of space at the Boston Properties tower, which is under construction and expected to open sometime in 2014.

A spokesperson for Boston Properties declined to comment, saying that it doesn’t comment on such reports. And a spokesperson for the law firm declined to comment as well, saying only that additional details would be available at some point next week. Read More

By Daniel Geiger 6/22/12 6:24pm

Lease Beat

250 West 55th Street

Microsoft Close To NYC Headquarters Decision

In a leasing market starved for activity, eyes in the brokerage business have turned to Microsoft, which is on the cusp of a roughly 225,000-square-foot lease for its Manhattan headquarters.

The software company, according to sources with direct knowledge of its real estate decision making, has whittled its choices to two locations, a renewal at its current home in 1290 Avenue of the Americas or a move to a new office tower being built on Eighth Avenue by Boston Properties, 250 West 55th Street. Read More

By Daniel Geiger 6/04/12 2:51pm

Lease Beat

250 West 57th Street

Morrison & Foerster Expands At 250 West 55th

The law firm  Morrison & Foerster added another floor to its anchor tenancy at 250 West 55th Street, it was announced earlier today.

Morrison & Foerster committed to about 180,000 square feet, floors 17 through 23, last year, in a 15-year lease that allowed the  building’s developer, Boston Properties, to proceed with construction of the one-million-square-foot tower, which was delayed because of the recession. Read More

By Robert Sammons 4/18/12 4:00pm

Stat of the Week

Midtown

10.5% & $72.50

The decline of Midtown Manhattan has been completely overblown. That statement sounds rather dramatic, right? But there have been rumblings that due to the ongoing turmoil in financial services (primary cause of the recession, sharp job losses within the industry, variety of regulations still to be put in place), this most premier of real estate markets in the United States is in danger of losing that title. Read More

By Daniel Geiger 4/18/12 8:00am

The Sit-Down

Robert Selsam.

Boston’s Market: Robert Selsam on Handling Mort Zuckerman’s Portfolio

As senior vice president and regional manager of Boston Properties’ New York office, Robert Selsam oversees one of the largest collections of trophy assets in Midtown. The company’s portfolio includes some of the city’s most exclusive office towers, such as the GM Building, 510 Madison Avenue, 399 Park Avenue and 601 Lexington Avenue. Though Midtown leasing was down substantially in the first quarter from last year, Mr. Selsam says that the company’s own leasing figures bucked the trend, in part because its assets are desirable enough to attract takers even during hiccups in the market. Read More

By Daniel Geiger 4/17/12 9:30am

2Q12

One Chase Manhattan Plaza

Right Out of Gate, 2Q12 Looks Sluggish

Just weeks into the second quarter, brokers are already saying that caution continues to linger in the city’s leasing market.

After one of the slowest quarter in years during the first three months of the year, a number of large transactions that have been
rumored to be in talks for months remain in negotiations and big tenants who do have to lease space have made decisions that reflect a
sense of conservatism. Read More