The Durst Organization has signed two new deals at 655 Third Avenue totaling a little over 8,000 square feet.
The company renewed Travel Yesterday Inc., a luxury travel agency that has been a tenant in the 425,000-square-foot building for about 30 years, for the 6,180-square-foot space it occupies on a portion of the 11th floor.
Asking rents in the deal were $54 per square foot and Travel Yesterday committed to the space for five years.
The Durst Organization cinched up the floor’s remaining 16,000 square feet in recent weeks when it renewed the investment company Brahman Capital, another existing tenant.
In the other transaction, lawyer Howard Felcher took 2,167 square feet on the 26th floor where asking rents are slightly higher than on 11, about $56 per square foot.
John Grotto, an in-house leasing executive at the Durst Organization and the agent for 655 Third Avenue, said that Mr. Felcher’s firm was drawn to the space because it had an existing office installation left over from the previous tenant that fit its occupancy needs.
“They liked the space, it was exactly what they were looking for,” Mr. Grotto said.
Carol Stacks and Adam Nelson of ABS Partners Real Estate represented Howard Felcher. Bert Rosenblatt and Andrew Stein, brokers at Vicus Partners, represented Travel Yesterday in its deal.
Mr. Grotto has been busy not only at 655 Third Avenue but also 205 East 42nd Street, a building with the largest vacancy in the Durst Organization’s portfolio with over 200,000 square feet available. Mr. Grotto said that the company, which is one of the city’s most prominent and successful real estate investment firms, has had activity for the space, including a 14,000 square foot deal he is currently negotiating for one of the floors.
