Albert Behler

Few traditions are as timeless as success. For Albert Behler, who’s been a steady hand at the helm of Paramount since 1991, last year’s significant improvement on 2020 came from a familiar formula: high standards, best fundamentals and a focus on long-term value. Hard to argue with over 1 million in total square feet leased, a 45 percent increase from the previous year.

Last year was all about recovery, resilience and reinvestment in the real estate investment trust’s corporate assets and marquee addresses. In May, the firm announced a repositioning of 60 Wall Street. In tandem with an $860 million refinancing of 1301 Avenue of the Americas inJuly, the 60 Wall announcement underscored long-term optimism around Manhattan office space. Paramount also played a key role in the gargantuan Terminal Warehouse project in West Chelsea, providing a $274 million mezzanine loan as part of a $1.25 billion financing package that included Blackstone, Goldman Sachs and KKR.

On the opposite coast, Paramount also opened the doors to One Steuart Lane, a 20-story ultra-luxury waterfront condo in San Francisco designed by SOM. Prices fetched as much as $4,000 per square foot, a testament to the project’s appeal and design excellence.

Amid the stories of moribund office performance and Midtown as ghost town, Paramount’s leasing success helped it standout even more starkly. The firm plugged significant vacancies, filling 190,000 square feet at 1301 Avenue of the Americas, formerly held by Barclays, and 81,500 square feet at 31 West 52nd Street, which TD Bank once called home. All in all, Paramount leased 780,000 square feet across New York, and saw its initial lease rate grow to an average of $100 per square foot, an increase on the 2019 rate of $94.50.

“Overall, we are confident that our high-quality and centrally located office spaces will continue to be attractive to tenants who are planning a return to the office,” Behler said.

If Paramount’s track record is any indication, 2022 may show a further return to form as more firms finally return to the office. Behler predicts the firm could lease up to 1,225,000square feet this year, and has formed a joint venture to acquire 1600 Broadway, a retail space in the heart of Times Square.