NYC Employees’ Retirement System Renews 30K-SF lease in The Factory LIC
By Mark Hallum June 16, 2022 3:14 pm
reprints
The New York City Employees’ Retirement System renewed its 30,559-square-foot space on the 10th floor of The Factory LIC, where it conducts operations alongside its 340 Jay Street office in Brooklyn, Commercial Observer has learned.
It’s unclear when the pension fund first moved into the property, and the landlord broker Newmark (NMRK) declined to provide terms of the deal. The pension fund’s renewal was one of several deals signed recently at The Factory building.
La Maison du Chocolat also renewed its lease, expanding by 7,926 square feet to put its total space at 12,828 square feet on the ground floor. Newmark declined to provide the length of the lease.
The chocolatier was already operating with a 4,902-square-foot space in the building, having signed a lease before the pandemic with the landlords, a joint venture between Atlas Capital Group, Invesco Real Estate (IVZ) and Partners Group. Asking rents on the ground floor are about $50 per square foot, according to Newmark.
The former Macy’s furniture warehouse at 30-30 47th Avenue has managed to remain leased throughout the pandemic, despite a rocky financial outlook that forced the owners to refinance with a $300 million loan from Credit Suisse in October 2020.
“The Factory LIC is truly a one-of-a-kind workplace that has attracted a diverse mix of creative tenants thriving at this location, as evidenced by the recent renewal and expansion transactions,” said Newmark’s Brian Waterman, who represented the landlords along with colleagues Howard Kesseler, Jordan Gosin and Alex Rosenblum. “We are pleased to have maintained leasing velocity at the project throughout the COVID-19 disruptions, leasing nearly 250,000 square feet since the start of the pandemic.”
A spokesperson for Newmark declined to provide the tenant brokers. La Maison du Chocolat did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Also renewing leases in the building are 20th Television with 8,353 square feet, Bombardier with 8,059 square feet on the fourth floor and Broadway Stages at 6,450 square feet on the ground floor.
The 10-story, 1.1 million-square-foot office development in Long Island City, Queens, was originally repositioned with $160 million in financing from Blackstone Mortgage Trust that was provided in 2016. The building was constructed in 1926.
Mark Hallum can be reached at mhallum@commercialobserver.com.
