Paramount Inks 119 KSF at Manhattan Office Tower

31 W. 52nd St. Image courtesy of CommercialEdge

Paramount Group has signed a lease with law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati for 119,000 square feet at 31 W. 52nd St., a 768,000-square-foot Class A office tower in Midtown Manhattan. The tenant will occupy floors five through eight, currently leased to London-based law firm Clifford Chance LLP, as well as the building’s vacant ninth floor. Wilson Sonsini will move into the space in 2024.

Cushman & Wakefield, in partnership with Washington Realty Group represented the tenant in the leasing transaction. Paramount Executive Vice President & Head of Real Estate Peter Brindley, alongside Senior Vice President Douglas Neye and Assistant Vice President of Leasing Sean Kirk, oversee leasing at the 29-story property.

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Designed by Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo & Associates, 31 W. 52nd St. came online in 1986. According to CommercialEdge information, Paramount purchased the LEED- and Fitwel-certified asset in 2007 for $595 million.

The tower features floor-to-ceiling windows, 16,000- to 40,000-square-foot floorplates and 32,737 square feet of retail space. Amenities include lounge areas, flexible meeting rooms and bike storage, among others. In 2019, the lobby underwent a complete renovation that included new materials, elevators and information systems.

Situated in Midtown’s Plaza District, the high-rise is close to many of the area’s retail, dining, entertainment and hospitality offerings, as well as to the city’s cultural sites. Five subway lines are within three blocks of the property.

Cushman & Wakefield Executive Director Stephen Bellwood, Vice Chairman Adam Ardise and Eric Berson, chairman & CEO of Washington Realty Group acted on behalf of the tenant.

The Midtown leasing landscape

Leasing activity in the city’s densest office cluster decelerated in the fourth quarter of 2022 to a volume of 2.6 million square feet, according to a Cushman & Wakefield report. Over the year, however, a total of 16.5 million square feet of space came under new occupancy, a 36.5 percent uptick from 2021, with a further net positive absorption of 1 million square feet. The warming fundamentals were owed in part to the increasing demand for amenity-driven, Class A office space.

Recent high-profile leases inked by Paramount include a 15-year arrangement for four floors at the owner’s flagship property, 1301 Avenue of the Americas, in September. In May, SVB Securities nearly doubled the size of its lease at the same property.