Empire State Building Lands 212 KSF Lease

Centric Brands, which had been occupying subleased space, signed a direct lease at the Midtown Manhattan landmark.

Empire State Building

Empire State Building. Image by Roberto Vivancos via Pexels.com

Empire State Realty Trust has completed a direct lease agreement with Centric Bands at the 2.8 million-square-foot Empire State Building. The tenant will occupy 212,154 square feet at the Midtown Manhattan property. Centric previously occupied the space on a sublease from Global Brand Group.

Located on 2 acres at 350 Fifth Ave., the 102-story tower was completed in 1931. In 2011, the owner executed a $550 million capital improvement plan on the high-rise, which resulted in a 38 percent decrease in energy consumption and $4.4 million in annual savings. The landmark building has a 15,000-square-foot gym, a conference center and 50,000-square feet of retail space. The tenant mix also includes Coty, LinkedIn and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

The new lease agreement comes on the heels of Centric Brands’ emergence from Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. Following its reorganization, the company reduced its debt by $700 million. Funds managed by Blackstone and its subsidiaries traded existing second lien mortgages for controlling equity interests in the firm.

JLL Chairman Peter Riguardi and Vice Chairmen Joseph Messina and Cynthia Wasserberger assisted the tenant. The owner was self-represented by President & CEO Anthony Malkin, Senior Vice President Ryan Kass and Associate Vice President Shanae Ursini.