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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.
