Knotel Inks 23K-SF Deal for Flagship Union Square Location
By Rey Mashayekhi October 18, 2017 6:00 am
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Office provider Knotel continues to gobble up space in Midtown South after agreeing to take more than 23,000 square feet at 5-9 Union Square West, Commercial Observer has learned.
Knotel inked a 10-year, 23,475-square-foot deal for part of the third floor and the entire fourth floor at the eight-story, 116,000-square-foot building between East 14th and East 15th Streets, according to a company spokeswoman.
The startup office provider, which arranges short-term lease agreements with tenants who effectively sublease space from Knotel, has already reached deals with venture capital firm Northzone and an unnamed “social innovation organization” for the space at 5-9 Union Square West. Both subtenants are due to move into the space in December, with Northzone relocating from another Knotel location nearby at 33 West 17th Street.
The location at 5-9 Union Square West will be Knotel’s “flagship” Union Square outpost, according to the company, which in addition to 33 West 17th Street also operates offices at 50 West 17th Street. Knotel now has more than 400,000 square feet of office space under lease across more than 20 locations in New York City, and recently announced its expansion into the San Francisco market.
“As Knotel becomes the office solution for established companies as well as high-growth ventures that have outgrown coworking, we’re excited to launch a flagship location overlooking Union Square,” Eugene Lee, Knotel’s head of property acquisition and business development, said in a statement. “With most of our spaces, including this one [at 5-9 Union Square West], already fully occupied, we’ll continue to expand to meet accelerating customer demand.”
Michael Morris of Newmark (NMRK) Knight Frank represented Knotel in the transaction, while landlord GFP Real Estate, the Gural family-led firm formerly known as Newmark Holdings, had no outside representation in the deal.
Knotel declined to provide asking rent in the transaction, while representatives for NKF and GFP could not immediately be reached for comment.
The lease marks the second time that Knotel has taken space in a GFP-owned building, having agreed this summer to around 27,000 square feet at the landlord’s 40 Exchange Place in the Financial District.
