U.N. Takes 130K Feet of Pfizer Space at Fischer’s 605 Third

It took an extensive four-party game of musical chairs, but Pfizer has dropped another 130,740 square feet of its Manhattan office space. After an 18-month negotiation, the U.N. Population Fund will take over the fourth to sixth floors at 605 Third Avenue.

In brief, the space was originally leased to the Nielsen Company, which sublet it to Pfizer. With 7.5 years remaining on the lease, the drug company sublet it back to the landlord, Fisher Brothers. The landlord will lease the space directly back to the U.N., adding another 7.5 years to the lease at the agency’s request, bringing the total to 15 years.

The deal marks another one down for Pfizer, which at one point was trying to sublet 750,000 square feet of space in Manhattan, after “adjusting to the recent market conditions,” as the press release puts it.

As for the U.N. fund, it will move from the old Daily News building at 220 East 42nd Street to a location steps from U.N. headquarters, with some new furniture thrown in. “UNFPA was not looking to relocate, but they were able to take advantage of a unique opportunity that they simply could not turn down, both for the financial considerations and quality of the space,” said Andrew Roos, a principal in the New York Tri-State operations of Colliers International, who negotiated the lease for the tenant.

There were “some rent considerations,” Mr. Roos said, though asking rents weren’t disclosed.

Jack Whalen of Fisher Brothers represented the landlord internally. Pfizer was represented by Pat Murphy and James Ackerson of CB Richard Ellis.