Knotel Inks Deal for 100th Building in NYC
By Nicholas Rizzi June 27, 2019 2:30 pm
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Flexible-workspace provider Knotel nabbed space in its 100th building in New York City by inking a 23,424-square-foot deal in The World Diamond Tower, Commercial Observer has learned.
Knotel signed a 10-year lease late last month for the entire tenth floor of Kenart Realties’ 580 Fifth Avenue between West 47th and West 48th Streets in Midtown, according to the landlord’s brokers Cushman & Wakefield (CWK). A spokeswoman for C&W and Knotel declined to provide asking rent, but CoStar (CSGP) Group data shows average asking rent in the 32-story property is between $55 and $65 per square foot.
(Disclosure: Observer Capital, led by Observer Media Chairman and Publisher Joseph Meyer, is a Knotel investor.)
The tenth floor of The World Diamond Tower was previously occupied by the Diamond Dealers Club for more than 75 years until the trade organization moved in 2017 to the nearby International Gem Tower at 50 West 47th Street, according to a Diamond Dealers Club press release.
C&W’s David Rosenbloom and Jennifer Casey represented Kenart Realties while Michael Cohen, John Pavone and Jessica Verdi of Colliers (CIGI) International handled it for Knotel. The Colliers brokers did not immediately respond to a request for comment via a spokesman.
“Knotel’s commitment to 580 Fifth Avenue is a great complement to ownership’s recent efforts in repositioning the property,” Rosenbloom said in a statement. “We’re thrilled to bring together two successful companies in New York City real estate to offer modern, flexible workspaces in the building.”
The deal marks Knotel’s 100th location in the city and brings its presence to nearly 2.5 million square feet around the Big Apple, the company said. Knotel also recently closed on two other outposts around Manhattan late last month.
Knotel inked a 10-year deal for 12,500 square feet on the entire third and fourth floors of 80 White Street between Broadway and Lafayette Street, according to Lee & Associates NYC, which brokered the deal for the landlord General Hardware Manufacturing Co.
The company plans to move into the Tribeca building in September and asking rent was $64 per square foot, according to Lee.
“Tribeca is an enormously desirable neighborhood in which to work, meaning that this new Knotel location will be able to attract top-tier companies,” Lee’s Gregory Gang, who worked on the deal with Catherine O’Toole, said in a statement. “I believe they chose 80 White Street both for the prime location as well as the accommodating ownership.”
Knotel had no brokers in the deal, a spokeswoman for the company said.
“Owners, brokers and companies in New York City and across the globe continue to respond favorably to Knotel as a great alternative to the conventional office experience,” Eugene Lee, Knotel’s chief investment officer, said in a statement. “Because of this, we’ve developed a market-leading portfolio of flexible office locations in New York.”
