HSBC Recommits to 550 KSF in Manhattan
The financial concern has signed a five-year leasing agreement with PBC USA to maintain its North American headquarters at 452 Fifth Ave.
By Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor
PBC USA needn’t fret about the anchor tenant at 452 Fifth Ave., its 865,000-square-foot Manhattan office tower, jumping ship anytime soon. The real estate investment firm recently signed HSBC USA N.A. to a lease that will keep the financial concern in its 548,000-square-foot North American headquarters space for an additional five years.
452 Fifth Ave., NYC
“With the HSBC commitment, we continue to maintain 100 percent occupancy thanks to the efforts of ownership and our excellent brokerage partners,” Alicia Popper, senior vice president with PBC, said in a prepared statement. Commercial real estate services firm JLL, exclusive leasing agent for 452 Fifth, represented both PBC and the tenant in the transaction.
There’s no place like home, and 452 Fifth has been HSBC’s corporate base since the company acquired the previous tenant, Republic National Bank of New York, in 1999. In 2010, PBC became HSBC’s landlord with the purchase of the property from the banking and financial services organization in a $330 million sale-leaseback deal. PBC followed the transaction with a capital improvement program, the $45 million first phase of which reached completion in 2011, the same year HSBC downsized its occupancy from 100 percent to its current square footage. The lease renewal, which will be finalized upon lender consent, allows the company to stay put in its premier digs, which include office space, basement accommodations and a retail presence in the two interconnected historic and modern structures that comprise the trophy office destination.
“The HSBC commitment speaks to the continued strength of the Bryant Park submarket and 5th Avenue as a world-class business address. It further solidifies our hands-on management approach as our team worked closely with the tenant throughout the process to accommodate the financial giant’s requirements,” Eli Elefant, CEO of PBC USA, noted in prepared remarks.
Even in a high-demand office market like New York City, landlords can’t make assumptions regarding retention. According to a report by JLL, the overall Manhattan vacancy rate dropped 10 basis points over the first three months of 2017.
Image courtesy of courtesy of PBC USA
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