‘New’ lease on life
Brookfield deal nails firms’ eye for ‘latest’
BROOKFIELD’S Far West Side leasing juggernaut snatched another marquee tenant from central Midtown. In the latest coup, law firm Crowell & Moring just signed for 71,000 square feet at Two Manhattan West, where it will move next year from a slightly smaller space at 590 Madison Ave.
The deal reaffirms the phenomenon of companies ankling to newly constructed buildings from older ones — including from those that opened as recently as the 1980s, such as still desirable 590 Madison Ave.
Corporate relocations cost a bundle even when landlords give concessions, and they disrupt operations. The fact that so many tenants are willing to do it shows how powerful the trend is.
Two Manhattan West’s 1.9 million square feet are already 76% spoken for. Cravath, Swaine & Moore signed on as anchor tenant a few years ago when the site was a hole in the ground, and was later joined by Clifford Chance and KPMG.
The tower will open in the spring when, coincidentally, the new High Line Moynihan Connector is to be completed that will link the elevated park to Manhattan West’s public plaza.
The move west is “not simply about moving to a bigger space, but to a better space,” said Crowell’s New York managing partner Glen McGorty. “We can operate more efficiently. Rather than fill our corner offices with partners, we have designed cutting-edge, multipurpose space where lawyers and staff can connect” to better serve clients.
Two Manhattan West is the final jewel in the crown of Brookfield’s 8-acre complex, just east of Related’s Hudson Yards. It also includes One Manhattan West (nearly 100% leased to EY, the NHL and Accenture), the Pendry Hotel and apartment tower The Eugene.
Brookfield can boast of scoring three of the year’s five largest Manhattan leases and five of the largest 10 deals to date. KPMG’s was the largest, at 450,000 square feet.
Pandora’s new box
There’s life in the Times Square office market despite recent exits of several large tenants. Trend-setting lab-made jewelry chain Pandora is moving its US headquarters from Baltimore to 1540 Broadway, the former Bertelsmann Building, taking 27,936 square feet on the 35th floor. Asking rent on the 15year lease was $82 per square foot, sources said.
A source said that Pandora was drawn by sprawling views and the building’s lavish new amenities center.
None of the brokers would comment. Clark Finney and Frank Doyle led a JLL team that represented the landlord. A different JLL team acted for Pandora.
As we reported last spring, the 44-story tower, owned by Edge
Fund Advisors and HSBC, secured $590 million in financing for the office floors (Vornado owns the retail space). It is now nearly 70% leased.
Uptown digs
Law firm Fried Frank is moving and expanding its Midtown conference center from 375 Park Ave., the Seagram Building, to Park Tower Group’s 535 Madison Ave. The 15-year lease for 14,375 square feet is for the entire 10th floor.
The move in 2024 will give Fried Frank more elbow room than it had and eliminates the inconvenience of being on two floors. “It’s a great building,” said Fried Frank real estate chairman Jonathan Mechanic, who was basking in the afterglow of his firm’s annual holiday party at Cipriani 42nd Street.
Fried Frank’s home base remains at One New York Plaza downtown. But Mechanic looked forward to the new uptown digs, which will have a bigger board room, more space for his attorneys — and access to the tower’s amenities, including an outdoor plaza and first-rate art.
“[Park Tower Chairman] George Klein has a great collection,” he said. “George and [company President] Marian Klein Feldt have their offices at 535 Madison so they treat the building like home.”
Long regarded as the real-estate world’s No. 1 “fun” event, the party on Tuesday was Fried Frank’s first truly full-bore celebration since 2019.