2023’s Largest Office Lease: Paul Weiss Takes 765K SF at 1345 Avenue of the Americas
By Mark Hallum December 21, 2023 5:58 pm
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Law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison has signed New York City’s — and the country’s — largest office lease of 2023.
The firm agreed to a 20-year deal for 765,000 square feet at the recently repositioned 1345 Avenue of the Americas, according to landlord Fisher Brothers" class="company-link">Fisher Brothers.
Known widely simply as Paul Weiss, the law firm will occupy 18 floors in the building between West 54th and West 55th streets. Asking rents in the building range between the high $80s per square foot on the lower floors to $135 near the top of the tower, according to a spokesperson for the landlord.
The law firm will be relocating from its current 550,000-square-foot New York City headquarters at 1285 Avenue of the Americas. It’s not clear when it plans to move into its new digs.
“With its high-tech features, thoughtful meeting spaces and artistic elements, 1345 Avenue of the Americas is the ideal location not only to accommodate our needs as we continue our path of global growth, but also to complement our firm culture of excellence in client service, collaboration and innovation,” Paul Weiss Chairman Brad Karp said in a statement.
Marc Packman, Clark Briffel, Charles Laginestra and Josh Fisher represented the landlord in-house in the transaction along with Howard Fiddle, Peter Turchin, Ben Joseph, Bill Iacovelli, Gregg Rothkin and Anthony Dattoma from CBRE (CBRE).
Moshe Sukenik, Chris Mongeluzo and Brian Cohen of Newmark (NMRK) negotiated on behalf of the tenant.
Spokespeople for Newmark and CBRE did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Fisher Brothers has pumped $120 million into the building throughout the pandemic, upgrading the exterior, installing touchless elevators, and opening a tenant amenity floor known as @Ease1345, which has 5,500 square feet of meeting, networking and dining space.
The formula was then repeated on a larger scale — 28,000 square feet — with @Ease 605 at 605 Third Avenue.
“Employee experience is at the forefront of tenants’ priorities, and we can’t wait to welcome Paul Weiss to enjoy the unparalleled, world-class work environment we’ve curated for our tenants at 1345 Avenue of the Americas,” Ken Fisher, partner at Fisher Brothers, said in a statement. “The firm’s notable growth and relocation shows how important modern amenities, public art, meeting spaces and state-of-the-art infrastructure are for today’s top businesses.”
Mark Hallum can be reached at mhallum@commercialobserver.com.
