Lower Manhattan is NYC’s Newest Media Hotspot
New wave of media tenants moves Downtown; latest to sign a deal is newly formed Newsweek Daily Beast Company
It has been decades since printing presses whirred on Park Row, but now a new wave of media tenants is moving to Lower Manhattan. According to CB Richard Ellis, 60 media firms are situated below Chambers Street in all today—occupying more than 1.15 million square feet of office space—and more have recently signed deals and are on the way.
“While financial services remain our signature industry, Lower Manhattan is quickly becoming media central,” said Elizabeth H. Berger, President of the Alliance for Downtown New York, which manages the Business Improvement District serving Lower Manhattan. “With 10 million square feet of Class A, green office space planned at the World Trade Center site, a rapidly growing, walk-to-work residential population and the best mass transit access in the region, it’s little surprise that many of the top media firms have decided that Lower Manhattan is the place to be.”
The latest media firm to sign a deal in Lower Manhattan is the newly formed Newsweek Daily Beast Company, which recently signed a lease for 46,000 square feet at 7 Hanover Square. The deal follows a merger between Newsweek and The Daily Beast, a news and culture website owned by IAC.
“The Newsweek Daily Beast Company combines the old and the new, forming a media partnership that’s about prestige and trust but also about ahead of the curve thinking and reporting,” Berger said. “The company is a perfect fit for Lower Manhattan, where some of the most cutting-edge media companies occupy some of the city’s most venerable and historic business addresses. Lower Manhattan is a story of 400 years of innovation, and right now we’re seeing the latest wave.”
Additionally, the New York Daily News and sister company U.S. News & World Report signed a lease in July for 100,000 square feet at 4 New York Plaza, and American Media, Inc.—publisher of Star and the National Enquirer—has a 100,000 square foot lease pending in the same building.
And last August, global publishing giant Condé Nast signed a letter of intent to occupy 1 million square feet at 1 World Trade Center, which is under construction and scheduled to open in 2014.
“The media industry is viewing Downtown quite favorably with the Daily News announced relocation and other major publishing companies reportedly close to finalizing transactions,” said Brad Gerla, executive vice president, CBRE. “This is creating a lot of excitement about the area’s future.”
Major media firms that have moved to Lower Manhattan since 2007 include:
• Broadcast Music, Inc. (57,000 square feet at 7 World Trade Center signed in 2009)
• Niche Media (45,000 square feet at 100 Church Street signed in 2007)
• Mansueto Ventures, LLC (39,000 square feet signed at 7 World Trade Center in 2006)
• The Deal, LLC (24,000 square feet signed at 20 Broad Street in 2010)
• GDS Publishing (20,000 square feet signed at 40 Wall Street in 2009)
“After 70 years in Midtown, we looked across the entire metropolitan area to site our new headquarters, and we’re thrilled to be anchored at 7 World Trade Center,” said Del Bryant, President and CEO of Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI). “The economics of this area offered great value, and made a compelling argument on the cost side. And as a long-time resident of Lower Manhattan, I know how vibrant and culturally diverse this area is; it has a natural “vibe” for the creative industries. We feel the neighborhood offers a powerful matrix of business and creative leadership, and BMI is enthusiastic about being a part of it. “
“New York is one of the most dynamic places on earth, and in Downtown you can literally see the city grow,” said Jane Berentson, Editor of Mansueto Ventures. “Both Inc. and Fast Company magazines appeal to readers who are innovative, risk-taking and excited about new design. It seemed like the perfect place for us.”
These tenants join an eclectic mix of media firms already in Lower Manhattan, including:
• Dow Jones & Company, Inc (204,000 square feet at 1 World Financial Center)
• SourceMedia (83,200 square feet at 1 State Street Plaza)
• American Lawyer Media (55,000 square feet at 111 Broadway)
• Metro New York (16,000 square feet at 44 Wall Street)
• Penthouse Media Group (16,000 square feet at 20 Broad Street)
• Thomson Reuters (15,000 square feet at 75 Park Place)
“As more of the city’s creative leadership moves below 14th Street, to brownstone Brooklyn and New Jersey river towns, Lower Manhattan is at the center of the action, with unparalleled mass transit access,” Berger said. “More and more, tenants are drawn not just to great office space but also to quality of life for workers. Firms are moving here because it just makes sense.”