Beacon Capital, MetLife Ink New Lease at Manhattan Tower

575 Fifth Ave. Image courtesy of Beacon Capital Partners

FirstService Residential, a manager of residential communities, has signed a 48,000-square-foot lease in the 40-story tower at 575 Fifth Ave., in Midtown Manhattan. Colliers’ Vice Chairman Mark Friedman arranged the long-term lease agreement on behalf of the tenant. The landlords, Beacon Capital Partners and MetLife, used in-house representation.

FirstService Residential’s former headquarters at 622 Third Ave. are within a mile of the new address. The firm will occupy the tower’s 9th and 10th floors this fall, with buildout already underway.

Montroy DeMarco Architecture is handling the workspace redesign, while Jack Green & Associates is overseeing the mechanical engineering work. The new tenant aims to create healthier workspaces for its nearly 500 associates and to ultimately receive WELL Silver certification for the retrofitted office space.

Built in the 1960s, the 533,695-square-foot tower underwent complete renovations in 2009. In 2016, one year after Beacon Capital Partners acquired half of MetLife Investment Management’s ownership stakes, the property went through $25 million worth of upgrades. Following the renovations, 575 Fifth Ave. received Energy Star, LEED Gold and Gold WiredScore certifications.

Situated at the corner of East 47th Street and Fifth Avenue, the tower is within walking distance of the 47th-50th Streets Rockefeller Center station and Grand Central Terminal. Located within the retail corridor along Fifth Avenue, the property offers access to numerous shopping options as well as to several New York landmarks, including St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

WeWork is currently anchoring the location. The coworking space provider agreed to take up more than 100,000 square feet at 575 Fifth Ave., after expanding its previous lease in 2017. Real estate companies Northwood Investors and Ten-X, and investment bank Liberum, have also taken up space in the tower. The ground floor retail space is occupied by Starbucks and GUESS, according to CommercialEdge data.

Last month, Russell Investments joined the tenant roster at 575 Fifth Ave., after signing a five-year agreement with the landlord for 8,568 square feet, Commercial Observer reported.

Updating the workspace

Over the last year, renovating Manhattan’s aging office buildings has been the preferred alternative to delivering fresh product. As of December, Manhattan had 19.2 million square feet of new inventory underway. The figure represents a 3.4 percent drop in construction activity year-over-year, according to the latest CommercialEdge report.

Green retrofitting and workspace redesign are supported by the local government and by tenants who have been looking for healthier office environments since the start of the pandemic. New projects coming to the borough are also adapting to the tenant demand for high-quality spaces.

Last month, Two Manhattan West, a 2 million-square-foot skyscraper developed by Brookfield Properties immediately east of Hudson Yards, topped out at 58 stories. The project was designed by Skidmore Owings & Merrill to meet LEED Gold certification standards.