Hines has been busy on the investment and development side over the past few months. After breaking ground at 7 Bryant Park in February, officials at the 56-year-old firm announced in March that they would put up for sale its properties at 499 Park Avenue and 425 Lexington, both part of the Hines Core Fund. Read More
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
Developers broke ground at 7 Bryant Park yesterday, with a consortium of public officials including Mayor Michael Bloomberg gathering to pitch the trophy office tower as a boon for the city.
Politicians are touting the planned 28-story, 470,000-square-foot steel and glass tower, slated for completion in the first quarter of 2015, as a magnet for good jobs, talent and companies.
“The best days are still to come to Bryant Park – a place the city has worked hard to bring roaring back to life,” Mr. Bloomberg said at the ceremony, adding that the project will bring “more top-tier, cutting-edge commercial space, and more leading companies and their tax revenue to Midtown Manhattan.” Read More
The vast number of glass towers rising in the New York City skyline–think 1 World Trade Center, One57, 7 Bryant Park–and a recent New York Times article on the subject got The Commercial Observer wondering about the city’s window washers. 32BJ SEIU, the trade union that represents 70,000 building workers in New York City and Long Island, among them window cleaners, provided some details about the industry. As the square footage of their workspace continues to expand–1 World Trade Center’s podium, alone, will include more than 4,000 glass fins, measuring 13 feet 4 inches by two feet–these workers dangle dozens of stories up, suspended by safety belts and one New York State Department of Labor rule. Read More
The vast number of glass towers rising in the New York City skyline–think 1 World Trade Center, One57, 7 Bryant Park–and a recent New York Times article on the subject got The Commercial Observer wondering about the city’s window washers. 32BJ SEIU, the trade union that represents 70,000 building works in New York City and Long Island, among them window cleaners, provided some details about the industry. As the square footage of their workspace continues to expand–1 World Trade Center’s podium, alone, will include more than 4,000 glass fins, measuring 13 feet 4 inches by two feet–these workers dangle dozens of stories up, suspended by safety belts and one New York State Department of Labor rule. After the jump, New York City’s window washing industry, by the numbers. Read More
Houston-based development company Hines has received an all-equity investment from J.P. Morgan Asset Management for 7 Bryant Park, the 28-story office tower designed by Pei Cobb Freed & Partners that, when completed, will overlook Bryant Park and beyond neighboring New York Public Library.
J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s investment is believed to be worth upwards of $350 million, industry sources told The Commercial Observer. Read More
As the first month of 2012 was coming to a close, many in the industry wondered aloud whether this would be a moribund year for leasing in many of the city’s newest buildings. There were notable new developments –1 and 4 World Trade Center and 51 Astor Place among them– dealing with equally-as-notable vacancies.
The NY Post’s Steve Cuozzo in January wrote that he detected “nothing substantive, or close to it, happening at no fewer than a half-dozen-odd new projects, from the World Trade Center to West 55th Street.”
Since then, however, the market has picked up, and many of these new developments have notched significant deals that have kept the naysayers mum…. at least, temporarily so. Read More
