AI Firm Altana Relocates and Expands to 62K SF at Vornado’s Penn 2

The New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs weren’t the only ones making moves in Manhattan’s Penn District this week, as an artificial intelligence data firm quadrupled the size of its headquarters in a relocation to the neighborhood from one of Brooklyn’s premiere office buildings.

Altana, which connects businesses with government agencies, signed a 10-year, 62,309-square-foot lease at Vornado Realty Trust’s Penn 2, also known as 2 Pennsylvania Plaza, according to the landlord. The deal represents a relocation for Altana from 20,874 square feet at Global Holdings’ 25 Kent Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where it first signed a deal in 2022.

Asking rent for Altana’s new space on the entire 21st floor at Penn 2 was $125 per square foot, according to a source with knowledge of the deal.

“Our mission is to fix globalization,” Altana CEO and co-founder Evan Smith said in a statement. “Penn 2 sits at the center of one of the most connected hubs in the world — it’s exactly the kind of place where that work should happen.”

Sam Seiler of CBRE and Joseph Sipala of JLL represented Altana in the negotiations, but it’s unclear who handled the deal on behalf of Vornado.

Seiler and Sipala, who represented Altana in its 2022 lease in Brooklyn when both were at JLL, declined to comment.

The AI firm’s relocation was about being in the central business district of Manhattan rather than simply expanding in the outer boroughs as it scales its business, according to the source.

Founded in 2018, Altana is primarily a government contractor that works with agencies such as the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol to enforce trade and economic security policies.

The deal means Penn 2 has managed to attract another major AI firm following last week’s revelation that Veeva Systems signed a 62,000-square-foot lease on the entire 11th floor of the building.

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