LinkedIn Takes 15K SF of Retail Space at Empire State Building

LinkedIn may be forcing its members to step away from the computer screen after the professional networking platform signed a lease for retail space at the Empire State Building.

LinkedIn took an additional 15,000 square feet at the Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT)-owned property for a term of 16 years, Ryan Kass, senior vice president and director of leasing and marketing at ESRT, said during a fourth-quarter earnings call Wednesday afternoon. The retail lease brings LinkedIn’s total footprint at the building to roughly 540,000 square feet when its office headquarters in the iconic skyscraper are taken into consideration, Kass said.

ESRT and LinkedIn did not immediately elaborate on the specifics for the retail space. The companies also did not provide the asking rent, but the average asking rent on the nearby retail corridor of Fifth Avenue from East 42nd to East 49th streets was $650 per square foot in the second half of 2025, according to a report from the Real Estate Board of New York.

It was not immediately clear who brokered the deal. ESRT declined to comment.

The mention of the deal in ESRT’s earnings call follows news that dropped earlier in the day of discount department store T.J. Maxx signing a 46,437-square-foot renewal for its store at 250 West 57th Street and J.P. Morgan Chase Bank renewing its 21,683-square-foot retail space at Grand Central Terminal.

The last notable office lease at the Empire State Building was for law firm Elsberg Baker & Maruri, which signed a 39,237-square-foot lease in July 2025.

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