The “flight to quality” that’s benefitted owners of prime Manhattan properties is remarkably mirrored in London, the market that’s most relevant to New York’s. According to Knight Frank, the UK’s leading property management and leasing firm, vacancy rates have plunged in the most desirable London submarkets and in the newest office towers especially — which should … Read more
So many real estate heavyweights turned up at the opening party for Daniel Boulud’s steakhouse La Tete d’Or at One Madison on Thursday, one guest called it “a Fried Frank preview,” referring to the law firm’s annual holiday bash next month. The likes of Aby Rosen (looking cheerfully untroubled by his Chrysler Building travails), Joseph … Read more
Restaurant-watchers might be stunned by Monday’s opening of Aqua New York, a block-long leviathan at 902 Broadway between East 20th and 21st streets. If they never heard of it, it’s because it hid in plain sight during more than 18 months of construction, with no advance publicity or social media hype. The two-level Aqua spans … Read more
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. Bloomberg LP will lease nearly 1 million square feet at SL … Read more
The Chrysler Building drama is far from over despite a judge’s ruling last week that Aby Rosen must butt out of Cooper Union’s management of the tower and not interfere with its collection of rents from tenants (who are technically subtenants due to the ground lease). Judge Jennifer Schecter’s issuance of an injunction sought by Cooper … Read more
The biggest relocation lease of October was private equity powerhouse TPG’s move to eight high floors in Tishman Speyer’s Spiral, aka 66 Hudson Boulevard. Its 301,276 square feet was runner-up in size only to Bloomberg’s 749,000 square feet at 919 Third Ave. that was mostly expansion space at the same location. TPG will move from 888 … Read more
A New York judge on Thursday ordered Chrysler Building tenants to pay their rent to Cooper Union instead of the real estate company that owns the leasehold — and ordered the firm’s mogul Aby Rosen to pay $21 million in back rent to the school. The stinging setback comes after Rosen sued the venerable college, … Read more
Welcome back, Vessel! At long last, the iconic vertical sculpture and sightseeing platform at Hudson Yards will become a hive of activity again on Monday, reopening to the public after more than three years. The gently tweaked, 16-story architectural folly is now safe for everyone and was worth the wait. Hudson Yards developer Related Companies closed … Read more
It might be too early to pop the Champagne corks, but Manhattan’s big-picture retail leasing scene shows strong signs of putting the pandemic carnage behind it. Even before anyone heard of COVID-19, online shopping depressed demand for brick-and-mortar stores by perhaps 10%. Lockdowns made things worse. Readers of this column know we’ve been skeptical about … Read more
The office leasing breakthrough that Downtown has been waiting for could happen by year’s end. Global trading firm Jane Street is looking to grow at Brookfield Place, we’ve learned. The electronically-driven market mover, which has about 500,000 square feet at 250 Vesey St., is in talks with landlord Brookfield for more space at 300 Vesey … Read more
