Bloomberg Inks 1 MSF HQ Lease Renewal in Manhattan

Bloomberg LP has renewed its longstanding headquarters lease at 731 Lexington Ave. in Midtown Manhattan, also called Bloomberg Tower.

The media and professional services company signed an 11-year extension agreement for all 946,815 square feet of office space at the 56-story Class A+ building. Since moving into 679,000 square feet at the tower in 2005, Bloomberg has increased the area of its lease by nearly 250,000 square feet, now hosting 7,000 of its 12,000 New York City-based employees.

Bloomberg currently occupies more than 2.1 million square feet across three buildings throughout the Big Apple.

The existing lease, set to expire 2029, will have an immediate renewal through 2040. On the other side of the agreement were Alexander’s Inc., the building’s owner, and Vornado Realty Trust, the tower’s developer and property manager. The latter, which owns a 32.4 percent ownership stake in Alexander’s, also oversees the property’s leasing.

Living in a landmark

731 Lexington was built in 2005, and was designed by César and Rafael Pelli. Construction took place on a full city block in the Plaza District, at the site of a former department store owned by Alexander’s. According to The New York Times, the building was initially intended to entirely house residential space, but Bloomberg’s lease turned the majority to office.

READ ALSO: Designing an Office Experience That Feels Like Home

 Alongside the office space, the LEED- and Energy Star-certified building hosts One Beacon Court, a 105-unit luxury condominium community, in addition to 250,000 square feet of retail space on its ground floor. Tenants at the latter space include Citibank, Home Depot and Tempur-Pedic.

Located on four corners between 58th and 59th streets, alongside Lexington and Third Avenues, Bloomberg Tower sits adjacent to Bloomingdale’s department store, and less than half a mile southeast of Central Park.

Manhattan’s office market shows mixed signals

Despite a string of recent development and brokerage headlines, CommercialEdge’s latest National Office Report found that the island’s vacancy rate of 17.6 percent has ticked up by 110 basis points year-over-year as of March, while its $74 million in sales in the first quarter is a significant slump from the $417 million that traded at the same time in 2023. As of March, asking rates in Manhattan remained the highest in the U.S., at $71.3, but representing a 1.3 percent year-over-year decrease.

The largest office lease around the city took place last week, with Geoge Comfort & Sons staking a 20-year claim to 338,085 square feet at 63 Madison Ave. A week prior, a joint venture between Lendlease and Extell Development Co., topped out on construction of 1520 First Ave., a 30-story, 400,000-square-foot medical office building.