Collectible Marketplace WhatNot Takes 15K SF at 155 Avenue of the Americas
By Abigail Nehring November 17, 2023 2:43 pm
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An online marketplace for knickknacks is rolling home to Hudson Square.
Los Angeles-based startup WhatNot signed a seven-year lease for 15,000 square feet on the 12th floor of 155 Avenue of the Americas, Commercial Observer has learned.
Asking rent was $85 per square foot, according to a source with knowledge of the deal.
Co-founders Grant Lafontaine and Logan Head conceived WhatNot in 2019 in the hopes of relieving the headache of buying collectibles from trustworthy sellers online. The company offers an online platform and social network for buying authenticated items from verified sellers. Since its founding, WhatNot has won backing from investors Andreessen Horowitz, YC Continuity and CapitalG, reaching a $3.7 billion valuation last year, according to an announcement after its most recent funding round.
A spokesperson for WhatNot said that the company is relocating to 155 Avenue of the Americas from its offices in SoHo. The company’s former address in SoHo is unclear.
The 15-story building at the corner of Avenue of the Americas and Spring Street that will be WhatNot’s new home is one of a trio of historic manufacturing buildings that have lately formed a nucleus of tech and media companies, including Squarespace, Horizon Media and Downtown Music Holdings. The buildings are part of the 12-building Hudson Square Properties portfolio operated by Hines in a joint venture between Trinity Church Wall Street — which has been its landlord for three centuries, thanks to Queen Anne’s 1705 land grant — and Norges Bank.
Emilie Goldman and Jamie Katcher of Raise Commercial Real Estate arranged the deal for WhatNot, while Newmark (NMRK)’s Peter Shimkin, David Falk and Jonathan Franzel represented the owners.
A spokesperson for Newmark declined to comment. Goldman and Katcher did not respond to requests for comment.
Abigail Nehring can be reached at anehring@commercialobserver.com.
