Medical, Jewelry Tenants Take 18K SF in Midtown’s 424 Madison
By Celia Young October 13, 2022 1:20 pm
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A host of new tenants — from those fixing broken bones to those shining engagement rings — gobbled 17,687 square feet at 424 Madison Avenue.
In the largest of the five deals, Japanese Medical Care took 4,948 square feet across the entire seventh floor of the BLDG Management building for 10 years. The medical facility, offering everything from physical therapy to acupuncture for Japanese people living abroad, will move into the space early next year, according to CBRE’s Jordan Donohue, who brokered the deals for the landlord with Paul Walker.
Japanese Medical will replace Rooney & Associates in the space, after the public relations firm left the Midtown Center building for a work-from-home model, said Walker. Asking rents at the property range from $55 to $59 per square foot, said Donohue.
Ubiq NY’s Piero Massimino represented Japanese Medical in its deal, and Ubiq NY did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Five floors above Japanese Medical, another clinic will open its doors early next year. The newly formed women’s fertility center Alignage Fertility signed a 10-year deal for 3,282 square feet on part of the 12th floor, and will open in the second quarter of next year, according to Prime Manhattan’s Mark Roopchan, who handled the tenant’s deal. BLDG will build out Alignage’s offices (along with everyone else’s) — a big perk for new firms, said Walker.
“[BLDG] offers a very streamlined process. They have an in-house architect, they have construction management, they will see the whole project through from start to finish, and they take that burden off of the tenants’ hands, so it really is attractive to these smaller companies that don’t have the staff to manage that,” Walker said. “In this market, you have to make it easy for the tenant because they have options.”
Those options are thanks to Manhattan’s high availability rate of 16.4 percent, still well above the 10 percent rate seen at the end of 2019, despite strong leasing in the third quarter of 2022, Commercial Observer reported. Plus, many office tenants have downsized or nixed their offices altogether, moving cubicles and couches into storage, CO reported.
But that hasn’t stopped Verstandig & Sons from bringing a little sparkle to the tower between East 48th and East 49th streets. The jeweler inked an eight-year deal for 3,235 square feet across part of the ninth floor of the 15-story building, relocating from 20 West 47th Street, according to Yelp.
Verstandig, known for its engagement diamonds, plans to move to the property early next year. Alongside the other new tenants, Verstandig will join Madison Dentistry and commercial real estate investment firm Raith Capital Partners at the 1926 building.
Verstandig isn’t the only tenant bringing glitzy jewels to the tower. Yehuda Diamond Company nabbed eight years in 3,232 square feet across part of the 14th floor of the property, and will also move into the space in early 2023 after it leaves its 580 Fifth Avenue outpost, according to its website.
Commercial real estate broker Esther Zar represented both Yehuda and Verstandig in each firm’s respective lease. Zar did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In the smallest transaction, multispecialty medical office JKB2 Medical Management nabbed 2,990 square feet in a 10-year deal. The newly formed firm opened up on part of the 10th floor two months ago, said OfficeNYC.com’s Max Vizgalin, who represented JKB2 in its lease.
BLDG’s ability to build out the offices was a big draw for JKB2 and the rest of the property’s new tenants, Donohue said.
“BLDG Management has been a dealmaker, very creative, willing to do work [and] willing to make terms that are very favorable to the tenants, which I think is attractive in this market,” Donohue said.
Celia Young can be reached at cyoung@commercialobserver.com.
