Jones Lang LaSalle


4 Midtown firms head downtown

Posh digs ditched for cheaper rent; Bra Smythe busting out Published on January 30, 2006
Four midtown businesses are trading their exclusive addresses for cheaper rents in lower Manhattan.

The largest of those transactions involves France Telecom, which will vacate its 16,000-square-foot space at 1270 Sixth Ave. in March and lease 24,000 square feet at 2 World Financial Center, at West Street.

And hedge fund Eagle Advisors is leaving 152 W. 52nd St. for a 13,000-square-foot space at 3 World Financial Center.

Brookfield Properties Corp. represented itself in the deal with France Telecom; Colliers ABR represented the tenant. CB Richard Ellis represented both the landlord and the tenant in the Eagle Advisors lease.

Another hedge fund, AM Investments, is relocating from 350 Park Ave. to a 9,000-square-foot sublet at 1 Liberty Plaza. CB Richard Ellis represented AM Investments as well as the leaseholder, the Bank of Nova Scotia.

The final lease was signed by Jed Johnson Associates. The interior design firm is moving out of 211 W. 61st St. and taking 8,000 square feet at 32 Sixth Ave., between Walker and Lispenard streets. Rudin Management Co. represented itself in the deal, and Cushman & Wakefield Inc. represented the tenant.

Rents in lower Manhattan average $30.89 a square foot, versus the average asking rate of $47.41 in midtown, according to a year-end report by Cushman & Wakefield. The contracts are a hopeful development for downtown landlords, some of whom are struggling to fill space.
"Hedge funds are usually at the high end of financial services, and we are very excited to see this portion of the industry coming to lower Manhattan," says Eric Deutsch, president of the Alliance for Downtown New York.

--Julie Satow