Legal Aid Society Takes Over 44K SF From S&P Global at 55 Water Street

The Legal Aid Society is taking over 44,000 square feet of office space at 55 Water Street.

The nonprofit signed a sublease with capital markets company S&P Global on the 36th floor of the 53-story Financial District building owned by the Retirement Systems of Alabama (RSA), according to the New York Business Journal, which first reported the news.

Legal Aid, which moved into the property in September, is using the space for its new training and advocacy center, where it will coach 150 staff members, the Journal reported. The space includes breakout rooms, classrooms and mock courtrooms.

CBRE (CBRE)’s Craig Reicher, Chris Mansfield, Greg Maurer-Hollaender and Julia Passante brokered the deal for Legal Aid, while the brokerage’s Paul Myers, Michael Liss and Joe D’Apice represented S&P and Howard Fiddle, Evan Haskell and Brad Gerla — also of CBRE — represented RSA.

CBRE declined to provide the length of the sublease and asking rent, but a report from Newmark found office rents in Lower Manhattan averaged $57.29 per square foot during the third quarter of 2024.

Spokespeople for Legal Aid, S&P and RSA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Legal Aid’s new space comes in addition to its 30 offices across all five New York City boroughs, including its 72,019-square-foot headquarters just six blocks away at 199 Water Street, which it renewed in July 2023.

The nonprofit will join other tenants at the 3.8 million-square-foot 55 Water Street, including J.P. Morgan Chase, Revlon, health care system MJHS Health System and software company Justworks.

This isn’t the first time S&P has sublet its space at the Financial District office tower. In September 2021, S&P subleased 137,000 square feet to payment platform DailyPay for 12 years, as Commercial Observer previously reported.

Isabelle Durso can be reached at idurso@commercialoberver.com.