Major NYC landlords get surprise boost from growing media giant
The city’s largest commercial landlords enjoyed big boosts from Bloomberg LP’s sustained and growing stake on Midtown’s East Side.
The media giant’s 924,876 square-foot renewal and expansion at 919 Third Ave., which we reported first, came as a welcome surprise to landlord SL Green.
CEO Marc Holliday revealed in his company’s third-quarter investors’ call that Bloomberg’s commitment “was not really within [our] expectations at the beginning of this year. So it was a very pleasant surprise.”
Bloomberg was a boon as well to Vornado Realty Trust. It extended its 900,000 square-foot lease at 731 Lexington Ave. to 2040, although Vornado chief Steve Roth helped the deal along with a pledge of a combination of capital upgrades and free rent worth $300 million, Crains reported.
January will be another happy month for Vornado, when New York University is expected to master-lease all 1.1 million square feet of office space at 770 Broadway – home to the new Wegmans — Roth revealed in an investors’ call.
Not every owner or building has been so fortunate. Even so, for an undeniably challenged market, Manhattan office leasing is showing considerable spunk — which might accelerate in the wake of recent interest-rate cuts.
The latest data from CBRE found overall availability of 17.2% for October, the lowest since March 2021. The 1.73 million square feet of leasing activity was 57% ahead of the five-year monthly average.
