Downtown Alliance Reports Bullish Leasing Activity South of Chambers Street

11/08/2011
Downtown Alliance Reports Bullish Leasing Activity South of Chambers Street

– Newest Quarterly Data Reflects 104% Increase Over 2010 Year-End Total –

Even as temperatures drop, the Lower Manhattan leasing market is hot, hot, hot! The Alliance for Downtown New York today announced a surge of leasing activity in Lower Manhattan with nearly 1.6 million square feet of leases through September 30th alone, for a total of 4.8 million square feet year-to-date.

This substantial quarterly activity is a 104% increase over 2010 figures, and has already outpaced year-end totals for the past three years. In fact, excluding the 1 million square foot Conde Nast deal at 1 World Trade Center, year-to-date leasing is still 61% higher than during the same period in 2010. The second and third quarters this year also showed the strongest quarterly leasing activity since late 2006.

“With these strong leasing figures, there is no question that Lower Manhattan is the place to be,” said Elizabeth H. Berger, President of the Downtown Alliance. “While financial services and professional services remain signature industries downtown, there has been a remarkable rise in professional services, creative services and also non-profits as well as the hospitality industry.”

The Downtown Alliance’s latest quarterly assessment of commercial activity in Lower Manhattan reported that several notable deals drove such robust leasing, including Oppenheimer and Co., which took 270,000 square feet at 85 Broad Street. This is the first transaction at this location since Goldman Sachs vacated the space for its new headquarters in Battery Park City in 2009. Oppenheimer plans to consolidate its operations and relocate employees from Midtown.

MSCI Barra, a financial services firm, signed 125,000 square feet, taking the last available space at 7 World Trade Center and ARUP, an international design and engineering firm, signed nearly 100,000 square feet at 77 Water Street and will relocate from Midtown.

Major tenants that have renewed their Lower Manhattan leases include Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International and technology firm Portware, LLC.

Top Leases Signed Q3 2011

The Downtown Alliance’s latest quarterly report – which you can view at http://bit.ly/rAmAnb – highlights residential, commercial and retail activity in Lower Manhattan.