Investment Firm Inks Lease Close to $200 Per Square Foot in Plaza District
By Michael Ewing May 31, 2013 3:30 pm
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Triple digit rents are on the rise and Ruane, Cunniff & Goldfarb Inc. is the latest to break the $100 per square foot threshold. The investment firm will be relocating within 9 West 57th Street, the prized Plaza District trophy building.
Founded by William Ruane and Richard Cunniff, the firm manages over $14 billion dollars in assets and operates as the investment advisor and distributor of the high-performing Sequoia Fund.
The new office space will elevate the firm from the 47th floor to the 50th floor where they will take 28,000 square feet of prime New York real estate.
The asking rent for the office was not disclosed, but the building boasts rents starting at $175 per square foot on the 32nd floor and subsequently increases, triple the Midtown average and the highest in the city.
“Much of the activity is related to the timeless infrastructure which the owner incorporated into the design when he constructed the building,” said Scott Panzer, vice chairman of Jones Lang LaSalle. “As for the top half of the building, [it is] hard to turn away from the best views in the city, if not one of the best in the country.”
The building was designed by Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, a leading architect that shaped modern design in the mid-20th century. Mr. Bunshaft’s work at 9 West 57th Street is one of the most recognizable towers in Midtown because of its 50-story presence and sleek sloping black glass facade.
With unobstructed views off the base of Central Park South, the upper floors offer sweeping views of the center of Manhattan.
The landlord, Sheldon Solow, was represented by Mr. Panzer and JLL (JLL), which was given the task of filling the building after the Bank of America (BAC) left a few years ago.
A team from Studley consisting of Michael Goldman and Daniel Posy represented the investment firm. Studley could not be reached for comment.
