China Merchants Bank Re-Ups for Manhattan Office

China Merchants Bank has signed a 15-year lease extension at 535 Madison Ave., a 37-story, Class A+ office tower in Midtown Manhattan’s Plaza District. Park Tower Group owns the 502,319-square-foot building.

The Shenzhen-based bank, the first from its country to open a branch in the U.S., extended its commitment for 43,060 square feet across the building’s 17th, 18th and 23rd floors, in a deal brokered by Cresa.

Cresa Principal Michael Goldman, alongside Vice President Barry Spagna and Director of Consulting Erik Sznip, negotiated the lease agreement on behalf of China Merchants Bank. CBRE Vice Chairman Brian Gell and Executive Vice President Laurence Briody, who oversee leasing at the property, represented the landlord.

Histories: bank and building

China Merchants Bank first signed a lease for 14,000 square feet on the tower’s first floor back in 2008, a year after the U.S. Federal Reserve approved its opening of a branch in New York City. In subsequent years, the bank expanded its space to become the property’s largest tenant. Its neighbors in the building include a mix of asset management, life science and consulting businesses.

In April of 2022, the property was reported as having full occupancy, following several lease extensions and expansions by tenants occupying in excess of 12,000 square feet.

According to CommercialEdge information, 535 Madison was originally built in 1981, and underwent a cosmetic renovation in 2009 that was overseen by Deborah Berke & Partners Architects. The LEED Gold, Wired and Energy Star-certified building is sectioned into 9,493- to 14,765-square-foot floorplates and includes 13,208 square feet of retail. According to Cresa, part of the bank’s motivations to extend their lease in the building came from its amenity spaces, which include an outdoor plaza, fitness center and a lobby with a permanent art collection.

---

READ ALSO: Where to Find the Bright Side of Office

---

In its immediate vicinity, 535 Madison is within shouting distance of myriad dining, retail, entertainment, hospitality and cultural sites located around northeastern Midtown, as well as several express and local subway lines.

Office expansions in Midtown

Through 2023, Manhattan retained the nation’s most expensive office market, with the average price for space clocking in at $833.93 per square foot, more than four times the national average, a CommercialEdge market update shows. Despite slowdowns in the city’s development pipeline and transaction volumes, existing and would-be office tenants remained undeterred, with the nation’s largest lease of 2023 taking place in December at 1345 Avenue of the Americas. There, law firm Paul, Weiss Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP relocated its headquarters to 765,000 square feet across 18 floors.

This year, the Big Apple’s office market is already off to a strong start, particularly on the lease expansion front. Last week, Burlington Stores Inc. expanded its lease at 1400 Broadway to 67,865 square feet. In late January, Evercore expanded its lease at Park Avenue Plaza by 95,000 square feet. The advisory firm now occupies almost half of the building.