A full-service law firm is taking issue with the layoff trend plaguing Manhattan’s office market.
Greenspoon Marder LLP signed an eight-year agreement to sublease 41,000 square feet from CBS Broadcasting in the AllianceBernstein Building, a 50-story skyscraper at 1345 Sixth Avenue, formerly the Burlington Building.
The Fisher Brothers-owned building completed a $120 million capital improvement project in 2021 that included exterior updates, an amenity floor, and a public art installation.
After the move, Greenspon will leave a 25,000-square-foot sublease in the IBM building at 590 Madison Avenue. CBS’s new sublease will offer almost twice the space of the previous one. It plans to move in by the end of this year.
Office expansions have become rare in the post-pandemic commercial real estate environment, as companies rush to shrink office footprints following the widespread adoption of work-from-home policies.
Available office space in Manhattan reached a record 94 million square feet as of last month, according to data provided by Colliers International. Tenants leased just 1.5 million square feet in April, well below the monthly average for the previous three years.
Midtown was one of the few bright spots, accounting for more than half of the borough’s total leasing. But the IBM building, owned by the Ohio State Teachers’ Retirement System, has recently struggled to keep tenants.
Since 2017, Greenspoon has sub-leased the IBM building from another law firm, Crowell and Moring, with a lease due to expire next year. Crowell signed a 71,000-square-foot lease at Two Manhattan West at Hudson Yards in December, meaning the IBM building has lost an anchor tenant and a sublet in the past six months. people.
The Savills team, including Jeffrey Peck and Daniel Horowitz, brokered the deal on Greenspoon’s behalf, while Cushman and Wakefield’s Bryan Boisi and Paul Ferrora represented CBS Broadcasting.
“Recognize [Greenspoon Marder’s] The unique need as it looked to grow and attract partners and employees back to the office was key to our strategy and ultimately helped us secure this turnkey space in one of the most comfortable buildings in Manhattan,” Peck said.
