Office of Court Administration Takes Two Floors at One Willoughby Square
By Rebecca Baird-Remba July 26, 2023 5:15 pm
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Another government agency is heading to One Willoughby Square, the new Downtown Brooklyn office tower anchored by a public school.
New York State’s Office of Court Administration is taking 27,304 square feet on the entire 10th and 11th floors of the 34-story building, which is also known as 420 Albee Square, according to a notice in The City Record. The lease is a relocation for the Appellate Term for the Second Department, which is moving from nearby 141 Livingston Street, according to a spokesperson for the state court system.
OCA — which handles operation, staffing and day-to-day support of New York courts — inked a 21-year lease for the space, with an option to extend for two five-year periods after that. The lease will begin after the agency renovates the two floors, at a cost of up to $5.3 million, according to the City Record. The landlord, JEMB Realty, will contribute up to $2 million in renovation costs.
The court system will pay $50 per square foot for the first three years of the lease, with gradual escalations every three years, maxing out at $70 per square foot in the 19th through 21st years of the agreement, according to the City Record. The agency will also get 15 months of abated rent.
The city’s real estate agency, the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, helped arrange the deal. Spokespeople for the city agency and JEMB did not immediately return requests for comment on the lease.
It wasn’t clear who represented OCA in the transaction, but the leasing team for the building is CBRE (CBRE)’s Paul Amrich, Neil King, Zachary Price, Alex D’Amario and James Ackerson. A CBRE spokesman declined to comment on the deal.
Construction wrapped at One Willoughby Square in 2021. It’s currently home to a public high school, dubbed Design Works. Other tenants include the building’s architect FXCollaborative, consulting firm Gemic and Architecture Research Office.
Update: This story was updated to clarify that OCA is relocating from 141 Livingston Street to One Willoughby.
Rebecca Baird-Remba can be reached at rbairdremba@commercialobserver.com.
