Software, Private Equity and Development Firms Ink Deals at 950 Third Avenue
By Celia Young June 15, 2023 4:02 pm
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Three firms — Ninth Wave, Levco Capital and William Macklowe Company — led a wave of new leases at 950 Third Avenue, Commercial Observer has learned.
In the largest deal, software firm Ninth Wave signed a three-year lease for 5,431 square feet on part of the 25th floor, according to Newmark (NMRK)’s William Grover, who brokered the deal for landlords Naomi and Andre Altholz alongside colleagues Jared Horowitz and Josh Gosin.
Asking rent was $65 per square foot.
Ninth Wave, which provides software to accounting and other financial firms, will ditch its temporary space at a WeWork on the 18th floor of 85 Broad Street for the Midtown building between East 56th and East 57th streets this summer, according to its LinkedIn profile.
The software company will join a handful of other professional services firms at the building, including law practice Aminzadeh & Associates, which renewed its 3,829 square feet at the tower this month, and real estate broker Katz & Associates, which re-upped its 2,273 square feet that same month.
Lee & Associates’ David Scher and Stephanie Moore and Daniel Gale’s Elvira Anderson represented Ninth Wave in the deal. Sher declined to comment. Anderson confirmed the deal but declined further comment.
Meanwhile, private equity firm Levco Capital has already moved into its new 4,978-square-foot offices on the 16th floor, Grover said. Asking rents were $62 per square foot in the 10-year deal.
Levco will keep its other office in Scarsdale, N.Y. in the deal, according to Newmark. A representative for Levco did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Like Ninth Wave and William Macklowe Company, Levco was drawn to the building because of its prebuilt office suites and views of the East Side, Grover said.
“There’s a smattering of different kinds of offerings in the building that cater to varying types of tenants,” Grover said. “We have something for everyone, which I think is important. And the building just generally has really good light and views. It’s on a corner so it gets three sides of exposure.”
Savitt Partners’ Bob Savitt and Elliot Zelinger brokered the deal for the tenant. Savitt and Zelinger did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Last but not least, William Macklowe’s eponymous real estate development company took 4,707 square feet on part of the 25th floor in a seven-year deal, Grover said. Asking rent was $65 per square foot.
Macklowe said he ditched his similar-size digs at 126 East 56th Street for the new building in April thanks to the 32-story tower’s “great ownership.” Plus, it didn’t hurt that his wife, Julie Macklowe, found 1,430 square feet across the hall for her liquor company, Macklowe Spirits.
“It was time for a change,” William Macklowe said. “I’ve always admired the building. It’s got terrific light, air and views, and financially stable ownership.”
Aside from being a Manhattan office tenant, William Macklowe Company has worked on a major apartment complex project at 120 Fifth Avenue in Brooklyn’s Park Slope, soon to be home to discount grocer Lidl. The development scored a $143 million loan from Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank in October, Commercial Observer reported.
JLL’s Brett Harvey and Samantha Melligon represented Macklowe in the deal. Harvey declined to comment. A representative for Naomi and Andre Altholz also declined to comment.
Celia Young can be reached at cyoung@commercialobserver.com.
