Private Equity Firm Signs Direct 19K-SF Lease at GM Building
By Nicholas Rizzi April 3, 2019 4:45 pm
reprints
J.C. Flowers & Co. is staying put in the iconic GM Building, Commercial Observer has learned.
The private equity firm inked a five-year direct deal with landlord Boston Properties to keep its 19,000-square-foot space at 767 Fifth Avenue between East 58th and East 59th Streets, according to Savills, which handled the deal for the tenant. A spokeswoman for Savills declined to provide asking rents in the deal but CoStar (CSGP) Group data show ones in the building range from $106 to $129 per square foot.
JCF originally took the space, which is on part of the 23rd floor, in 2014 when it signed a sublease with law firm Weil Gotshal & Manges that expires in the summer, the spokeswoman said. The direct lease starts in September.
Savills’ Joseph Genovesi said JCF looked at offices on the West Side and in Lower Manhattan before ultimately deciding to keep its offices in the GM Building.
“Despite all of the new construction and the migration to the west and south, JCF determined that 767 Fifth Avenue was the most compelling location for the company based on the quality of the building,” Genovesi said in a statement. “Following a thorough search and analysis, we were able to negotiate terms that aligned with JCF’s organizational goals.”
Genovesi brokered the deal for JCF along with colleagues Brad Wolk and Francis Santangelo. Boston Properties handled it in-house with Heather Kahn. A spokeswoman for the landlord did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Other tenants in the 50-story, 1.8-million-square-foot GM Building include beauty products manufacturer Estée Lauder Companies, financial services firm Perella Weinberg and investment management firm York Capital.
