Financial Firm GFI Group Expands to 129K SF at 55 Water Street

A financial services firm is doubling its footprint to a total of 128,749 square feet in Manhattan’s Financial District.

GFI Group tacked on an additional 64,993 square feet on the 11th floor of 55 Water Street, which is owned by Retirement Systems of Alabama, to its existing 63,756-square-foot office on the 10th floor in a consolidation of its operations. GFI will be vacating its offices at 199 Water Street, according to landlord broker CBRE.

The New York Post first reported the deal.

The tenant renewed the lease for its entire footprint for 17 years. Asking rent in the building was $59 per square foot, according to CBRE.

“After evaluating the downtown and broader Manhattan market, GFI Group, which has been a tenant in the building since 2007, reaffirmed its long-term dedication to the building,” CBRE’s Howard Fiddle said in a statement. “The transaction was the largest direct deal in the district upon closing since August 2023, and the largest deal on Water Street since the Metropolitan Jewish Health System deal in 2022, also at 55 Water Street, boding well for the market as a whole.”

Fiddle represented the Retirement Systems of Alabama alongside Bradley Gerla, Evan Haskell and William Hooks while Newmark’s Jared Horowitz and Hal Stein negotiated on behalf of GFI Group.

Newmark did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Other tenants in the 53-story tower include Verra Mobility, which signed a 57,149-square-foot lease in October, and engineering consultancy Jaros, Baum & Bolles, which took 67,963 square feet in June.

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