AI Firm Graphite Signs 24K-SF Deal With Tishman Speyer at 148 Lafayette Street

Artificial intelligence code review platform Graphite signed a new lease in SoHo that will more than triple its office footprint, Commercial Observer has learned.

The tech firm signed a five-year, 24,000-square-foot lease for the sixth and seventh floors of Tishman Speyer’s 148 Lafayette Street in December, with plans to relocate from a 7,000-square-foot space two blocks away at 434 Broadway, according to the landlord.

Tishman Speyer did not disclose the asking rent in the building, but the average asking rent in Lower Manhattan was $58.40 per square foot in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to a report from CBRE. 

“We acquired 148 Lafayette with the conviction that demand remains strong for top-quality, well-located office properties,” Tishman Speyer Senior Managing Director Chris Shehadeh said in a statement. “Our ability to lease these two floors almost immediately after becoming available reinforces that confidence.”

Samantha Augarten represented Tishman Speyer in-house in the transaction, while Jonathan Franzel and Leo Koné of Newmark negotiated on behalf of the tenant.

Newmark did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Tishman Speyer bought the 150,000-square-foot office property at the corner of Lafayette and Howard streets from Steven and Michael Elghanayan’s real estate investment company Epic for $105.5 million in June 2025, CO reported at the time.

Other tenants in the 13-story building include venture capital firm General Catalyst, which signed a lease for 42,535 square feet on the 10th through 12th floors of 148 Lafayette in March 2025, and cosmetics firm Charlotte Tilbury.

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