Leases  ·  Office

NYC Sanitation Department Taking 72K SF at Former Verizon Building

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The New York City Department of Sanitation is the latest city agency to commit to office space at the former Verizon Building, after agreeing to take more than 72,000 square feet at the under-renovation office tower at 375 Pearl Street near the Financial District, Commercial Observer has learned.

The Department of Sanitation inked a 20-year, 72,180-square-foot lease last month for the entire 18th and 19th floors at the 32-story, 1.1-million-square-foot office building located adjacent to 1 Police Plaza and the Brooklyn Bridge.

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Asking rent in the deal was in the low $50s per square foot, according to sources with knowledge of the transaction, with the city agency set to leave its current Lower Manhattan offices at 137 Centre Street to move to 375 Pearl Street.

While sources did not disclose when the Department of Sanitation will make the move to its new digs, which will house a data center as well as offices, CoStar Group data indicate that the lease will begin in January 2018.

Cushman & Wakefield’s Bob Giglio and George Keller represented the tenant in the transaction, while CBRE’s Gregg Rothkin and Gerry Miovski worked on behalf of the landlord Sabey Data Center Properties, a division of Seattle-based Sabey Corporation.

Sabey acquired the property in 2011 for $120 million and announced plans three years later for a glass curtain wall renovation of 15 upper floors at the building—known for its brutalist façade that, while practical for its original use as a telephone switching and data center, has been considered an eyesore by many New Yorkers since it first opened in 1975.

Numerous city agencies have subsequently agreed to take space at the tower, with the Human Resources Administration agreeing to take 194,000 square feet earlier this year and the Department of Finance inking a 175,000-square-foot lease last year.

A C&W spokesman did not provide comment on the transaction, while a CBRE spokeswoman declined to comment.