NYC’s Independent Budget Office Requests 19K-SF Office at One Battery Park Plaza

The New York City Independent Budget Office (IBO) is looking to more than double its office footprint at a new home in Lower Manhattan’s Financial District.

The publicly funded IBO, a nonpartisan agency that provides city officials and the public with information on the municipal budget and the city’s economy, wants to move to 18,765 square feet on the fourth floor of Rudin’s One Battery Park Plaza, according to a Friday filing with the Department of City Planning.

The deal would be a relocation for IBO, which has occupied 8,503 square feet on the 14th floor of Pacific Oak Capital Advisors’ nearby 110 William Street since 1996, the filing said.

The filing, submitted by the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS), which handles leasing for the city, claims IBO has “significantly outgrown its current space” and “no longer has sufficient available desk space to reasonably accommodate its existing staff.”

Rudin declined to comment, while spokespeople for IBO and DCAS did not immediately respond to requests for comment. It’s unclear who is brokering the proposed deal.

A hearing before the Planning Department on IBO’s application is scheduled for Feb. 5, according to Crain’s New York Business, which first reported the deal.

IBO seeks a “long-term office space solution” at One Battery Park Plaza to house its 51 full-time staff members, part-time workers, interns and research fellows, as well as to host meetings and gatherings, according to the filing.

IBO also requested a series of amenities in its proposed office at the 35-story building, including private offices, conference rooms, a wellness room and a storage area, the filing said.

The full-block office building is bordered by Bridge and Pearl streets to the north and south, and by Whitehall and State streets to the east and west. It is also home to law firms Sacks & Sacks, Romano Law and Barry McTiernan & Moore, as well as architects Curtis + Ginsberg Architects.

IBO’s request comes amid some controversy for DCAS and an investigation into Mayor Eric Adams’s administration, which includes allegations of potential bribery and money laundering in the city’s leasing of commercial properties.

In October, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office opened a corruption investigation into the matter, effectively halting some city agencies’ leasing deals.

That includes the New York City Department of Aging’s 80,000-square-foot lease at Alexander Rovt’s 14 Wall Street, which was paused in December as city officials review “policies and procedures across the administration,” a City Hall spokesperson previously told Commercial Observer.

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