Rudin Family Inks Full-Floor Lease in Midtown

41 Madison Ave. Image courtesy of Rudin Management Co.

Rudin Management Co. has chalked up another long-term lease at one of its Midtown South skyscrapers in Manhattan. The Henry Luce Foundation will occupy the full 27th floor of the 42-story tower at 41 Madison Ave.

The nonprofit tenant, which focuses on arts and education, signed a 15-year, 13,801-square-foot commitment at the 500,000-square-foot high-rise adjacent to Madison Square Park. The foundation is set to relocate next May from its current premises across the street at 51 Madison Ave., where it has been occupying 12,700 square feet since 2007, according to CommercialEdge data.

The WiredScore Platinum certified office tower’s lobby and public spaces were renovated in 2019. The upgrades were designed by famed architecture studio Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. The lobby now has a glass entrance, marble flooring, new reception area and new elevator cabs.

CBRE’s John Nugent and Liz Lash worked on behalf of the Henry Luce Foundation in closing the deal, while Rudin Management Co.’s Robert Steinman represented the landlord in-house. In the last two months, Rudin has inked 30,000 square feet of new office leases at 41 Madison Ave. Other tenants include 24Seven, The Gersh Agency, Water Island Capital and and Ralph Lauren Home.

Manhattan vacancy

In late October, Rudin Development and Boston Properties signed a 12-year, 42,000-square-foot lease with Food52 at Dock 72 in Brooklyn. The cooking and home brand will relocate from its Chelsea headquarters to the 675,000-square-foot building, joining flex office giant WeWork. Back in August, Rudin also closed on two new leases totaling 72,000 square feet at 32 Avenue of the Americas in Tribeca.

Despite struggling with occupancy since the onset of the global health crisis, Manhattan remains the gateway market with the lowest vacancy rate. In August, the market’s office vacancy dipped to 10.8 percent, but was still 240 basis points higher than at the same point last year. 41 Madison Ave. is located within the Gramercy Park submarket, which bears one of the highest vacancies in Manhattan, along with the Financial District and the Plaza District.