Empire State Building Scores Full-Floor Tenant

Empire State Building. Image courtesy of Empire State Realty Trust

Empire State Realty Trust has signed a 26,620-square-foot long-term lease at the 2.8 million-square-foot Empire State Building in Midtown Manhattan. Global tech and management company Capco will relocate its New York City office from 77 Water St. in Lower Manhattan and will fully occupy the office tower’s 68th floor.

The new tenant will join the skyscraper’s current tenants including LinkedIn, Unipharm, The Alberleen Group and many others. ESRT owns the office building since 2013, when it purchased it in a $771 million portfolio deal from Helmsley Enterprises, CommercialEdge data shows.

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Located at 350 Fifth Ave., the high-rise underwent a $650 million improvement program and now features 65,000 square feet of amenity space, with a 15,000-square-foot fitness center, eight on-site dining options and a conference center. Additionally, the property will soon include a multipurpose space with a 400+ people capacity, that will be equipped with basketball and pickleball courts, a 120-person common-area lounge, golf simulators and other amenities.

A Newmark team including Vice Chairman Jared Horowitz and Head of New York Consulting Group Jason Perla negotiated on behalf of the tenant. The landlord was represented in-house by Vice Presidents of Leasing Jordan Berger and Shanae Ursin, with the assistance of Newmark Vice Chairman Scott Klau and Managing Director Neil Rubin. The Empire State Building’s improvement strategy makes it a sought-after location in terms of energy efficiency, workplace quality and amenities, options that are attracting new tenants and improve leasing activity, said Newmark’s Klau in prepared remarks.

Recent leasing deals in Manhattan

Earlier in June, ESRT secured two other tenants at the property: Skanska continued its tenancy that started in 2008, by relocating to a 25,057-square-foot space, occupying a full floor. Aprio signed a 14,945-square-foot deal, relocating its New York City office.

Manhattan’s office vacancy rate stood at 16.5 percent as of April, representing a 210-basis-point increase year-over-year, recent CommercialEdge research shows. However, Midtown Manhattan is seeing somewhat of a resurgence as of late, with several larger deals pushing the market beyond positive absorption.