The Hawthorne Foundation, a nonprofit educational institution for children and young adults with developmental disabilities, is moving into the ground floor of 156 Williams Street in the heart of the Financial District. The asking rent for the 10-year lease was a modest $38 a square foot.
The deal, coming in at around 10,830 square feet, brings the 12-story building to 91 percent occupancy. Hawthorne joins a mix of nonprofit and commercial tenants, among them environmental nonprofit Earthjustice and business consultants Chrysler Borg.
The building recently underwent a $7 million renovation, which, according to landlord Capstone’s managing principal Daniel Ghadamian, has attracted a growing roster of tenants.
“The downtown submarket continues to be the best performing in New York City, and 156 William Street has been well received by the brokerage community and their tenants,” he said. “We are certain that the newly renovated building serves as one of many incentives for potential tenants.”
The privately run Hawthorne Foundation has served individuals with developmental disabilities, autism and behavioral disorders since 1981. It is the state of New York’s longest-practicing Applied Behavior Analysis program and provides services ranging from early intervention to vocational skills.
Jeffrey Simmons of the Lawrence Group represented Hawthorne in the transaction; CB Richard Ellis team Jonathan Cope, Howard Fiddle, Bard Gerla, Evan Haskell and Michael Higgins repped Capstone.
