Biotech Firm LB Pharmaceuticals Signs 9K-SF Lease at Vornado’s Penn 1

Biotechnology firm LB Pharmaceuticals is leaving its offices at 575 Madison Avenue for bigger digs at Penn 1, Commercial Observer has learned.

The company, which develops treatments for neuropsychiatric diseases such as schizophrenia, signed an 8,906-square-foot lease on the 10th floor of Vornado Realty Trust (VNO)’s 57-story building near Pennsylvania Station, according to tenant broker JLL (JLL).

JLL declined to disclose the asking rent and the length of the lease, but a February deal in Penn 1 had an asking rent of $110 per square foot. It’s also unclear how much of an expansion this is for the tenant, but it plans to move to Penn 1 in the third quarter of 2024, JLL said.

“Vornado has created a spectacular office environment that promotes self-care as part of work life and LB Pharma was immediately drawn to the comprehensive offering that is unmatched in the city,” JLL’s Thomas Burrus, who represented the tenant, said in a statement. “Penn 1’s tremendous connectivity also positions it at the top of the tenant experience wishlist and made it even more appealing to employee-focused LB Pharma.”

Vornado was represented in-house by Josh Glick, Jared Silverman, Anthony Cugini and Jordan Donohue, but the landlord did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment.

The office tower at West 34th Street and Seventh Avenue has tenant lounges, a library, a fireplace and a pedestrian plaza, Plaza33, which opened Monday on West 33rd Street.

Other deals in the 57-story office tower at West 34th Street and Seventh Avenue include securities litigation firm Rolnick Kramer Sadighi, which signed a 5,064-square-foot lease in February, and Canaccord Genuity Group, which took 73,000 square feet in July 2023.

Penn 1’s tenant roster includes Dell Technologies, Samsung, Empire Heath, Cisco, Hartford Insurance, Jacobs Engineering, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo.

Mark Hallum can be reached at mhallum@commercialobserver.com.