LearningExpress Leases Space at 80 Broad Street
By Karsten Strauss December 17, 2012 1:00 pm
reprintsEarly last week, the online career and academic resource library, LearningExpress LLC, signed a three year, 8,695-square-foot lease at 80 Broad Street. Asking price was $32 per square foot, said Todd Korren, principal and director of leasing with the landlord, Savanna.
“80 Broad is a fully renovated building with redundant telecommunications infrastructure, 24/7 manned security, lobby turnstiles, and a beautifully restored art deco lobby,” Mr. Korren told The Commercial Observer. “The building is ideally located within 2 blocks of most subway lines, ferry service and the FDR Drive.” The 80 Broad Street space was already built and required only minor cosmetic modifications in order to accommodate the needs of LearningExpress, he added. “The space was built with multiple conference rooms, offices, a large open area and a pantry, which ideally suited the needs of the company,” Mr. Korren said.
LearningExpress began its search about eight months ago, said Jordan Mandel, principal at the Vortex Group, which represented the tenant. “We did an exhaustive search of downtown and midtown including midtown south.” The company will be moving in at some point in the first quarter, 2013, from its current base at 2 Rector Street.
Although LearningExpress initially sought space in Midtown South,it found offices more in line with what it was looking for – cost effective, efficient, higher end, office space – in the downtown area. “Midtown south is hot but the product is not in the best shape,” Mr. Mandel said. Also, the abundance of transportation near 80 Broad Street made the spot more attractive, as did the various developments ongoing in the financial district, he said.
Mr. Mandel was positive about LearningExpress’s new landlords, saying that Savanna was a strong a proponent of the lower Manhattan region. “There’s something special about a landlord that supports downtown.”
