Munich RE Affiliate Consolidating NYC Offices to 330 Madison
By Mark Hallum August 8, 2022 1:02 pm
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MEAG, the asset management arm of Munich Re, is bringing three of its New York City offices into a single building, Commercial Observer has learned.
The real estate firm will be consolidating its offices at 540 Madison Avenue, 437 Madison Avenue and 1177 Avenue of the Americas to 75,000 square feet on the 12th and 13th floors at 330 Madison Avenue, according to sources familiar with the deal. Munich RE owns the property while JLL (JLL) handles all leasing in the building. Asking rents and the length of the lease were not disclosed.
But for MEAG to move in, someone may have had to skedaddle.
The 13th floor is currently occupied by London-based bank HSBC, but JLL’s Frank Doyle, David Kleiner and Carlee Palmer negotiated a termination of the bank’s lease on that floor, though it is unclear if HSBC is reducing its total footprint, shifting offices within the building or vacating altogether.
JLL declined to comment. HSBC and MEAG did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
While the 12th floor was vacant at the time of the deal with MEAG, according to sources, HSBC’s original lease signed in 2013 was for 75,000 square feet on both the 12th and 13th floor. At the time, Vornado Realty Trust managed the property, but sold its 25 percent stake in the building in 2019 as reports surfaced that the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) was looking to offload its 75 percent interest in the 39-story asset.
In January 2020, after acquiring HFF for $1.8 billion, JLL also doubled its own occupancy at 330 Madison to 165,000 square feet with HSBC again rethinking its layout and vacating the fifth floor, according to the New York Post.
Mark Hallum can be reached at mhallum@commercialobsever.com.
