Owen Thomas (left), Douglas Linde (top right), and Hilary Spann.
Owen Thomas, Douglas Linde and Hilary Spann
Chairman and CEO; president and director; executive vice president for New York region at BXP
Last year's rank: 12
In a year that saw a real turnaround in office, it should be no surprise that the biggest office real estate investment trust in the country had plenty to be happy about.
“Overall, I would say New York — and the company — did almost as well [in 2024] as they did in 2019, which is to say that the market and BXP delivered leasing performance that was consistent with pre-COVID levels of leasing — which is fantastic,” said Hilary Spann.
In 2024’s final quarter alone, the firm led by Douglas Linde and Owen Thomas did 83 leases comprising 2.3 million square feet. And, for the whole of 2024, BXP leased 5.6 million square feet in its gargantuan portfolio, bringing its occupancy up to 87.5 percent. (In central business districts, that number is even higher — 92.8 percent.)
But the first quarter of 2025 was excellent, too. “We’ve continued to see strength in the leasing market,” Spann said. “You know, look no further than the Goodwin lease that we just announced for 250,000 feet in Midtown South.”
Spann was talking about a humdinger for law firm Goodwin Procter at 200 Fifth Avenue that closed a few days before she spoke to CO from 360 Park Avenue South (another BXP property purchased in 2021).
Unlike a lot of office owners that are content to sit under the current conditions and digest, BXP has an appetite for more development. The REIT currently has three major sites under construction (or primed for it) in New York City.
The first is the former Metropolitan Transportation Authority headquarters at 343 Madison Avenue, which is planned as a 950,000-square-foot office tower. As part of the ground lease, BXP has an agreement to build a Madison Avenue entrance to Grand Central Terminal.
A second development site at 3 Hudson Boulevard is planned as a 1.8 million-square-foot office tower that Spann said has generated great interest from prospective tenants (in the range of “500,000-square-foot” leases, she said).
Finally, in December of last year BXP (along with Moinian and BRP) was awarded Site K from Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office for a $1.35 billion mixed-use project just north of 3 Hudson Boulevard at 418 11th Avenue — as sure a bet as you’re going to get in a neighborhood.
“Every square foot that is built in Hudson Yards is leased,” said Spann.
