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Citi's Manhattan transfer
Financial giant eyes New Jersey space; 1,500 workers would leave downtown NY
By Julie Satow
Published on May 08, 2006
Citigroup Inc. is negotiating a lease that would shift more than 1,500 workers from lower Manhattan to Jersey City.
The financial services giant is selling the 363,000-square-foot office tower at 250 West St. that houses its Smith Barney investment banking division. It is considering moving the division's employees to a 370,000-square-foot space at 480 Washington St. in Jersey City that it would sublease from UBS. The asking rent in the 32-story tower, known as Newport Office Center VII, is approximately $30 a square foot.
The bank is "considering a number of options," says a Citigroup spokeswoman.
Citigroup is contemplating the move at a time when New York City officials and business leaders are working hard to attract and keep businesses in lower Manhattan. Citigroup's chief executive, Charles Prince, is co-chairman of the Partnership for New York City, a civic group that is leading the effort to bring businesses downtown.
Major NYC employer
Citigroup is the city's largest private-sector employer and a major New York tenant and property owner. Last year alone, it signed leases totaling 750,000 square feet at 485 Lexington Ave., 731 Lexington Ave. and 787 Seventh Ave.
Citigroup is not the only Manhattan tenant eyeing a move to Jersey City. Citco Group Ltd., a company that provides services to hedge funds and has $250 billion in assets, leased 69,500 square feet at Harborside Financial Center Plaza X earlier this year and plans to relocate as many as 300 workers from its offices at 350 Madison Ave.
The average asking rent for commercial space in northern New Jersey is $26 per square foot, according to Cushman & Wakefield Inc.'s first-quarter market report. In Manhattan, the average asking rent is $55 in midtown and $35 downtown. Advocates of the New Jersey market also cite lower utility costs, an abundance of more efficiently designed office space, and tempting tax incentives.
Comments? JSatow@crain.com
©2006 Crain Communications Inc.
Citi's Manhattan transfer
Financial giant eyes New Jersey space; 1,500 workers would leave downtown NY
By Julie Satow
Published on May 08, 2006
Citigroup Inc. is negotiating a lease that would shift more than 1,500 workers from lower Manhattan to Jersey City.
The financial services giant is selling the 363,000-square-foot office tower at 250 West St. that houses its Smith Barney investment banking division. It is considering moving the division's employees to a 370,000-square-foot space at 480 Washington St. in Jersey City that it would sublease from UBS. The asking rent in the 32-story tower, known as Newport Office Center VII, is approximately $30 a square foot.
The bank is "considering a number of options," says a Citigroup spokeswoman.
Citigroup is contemplating the move at a time when New York City officials and business leaders are working hard to attract and keep businesses in lower Manhattan. Citigroup's chief executive, Charles Prince, is co-chairman of the Partnership for New York City, a civic group that is leading the effort to bring businesses downtown.
Major NYC employer
Citigroup is the city's largest private-sector employer and a major New York tenant and property owner. Last year alone, it signed leases totaling 750,000 square feet at 485 Lexington Ave., 731 Lexington Ave. and 787 Seventh Ave.
Citigroup is not the only Manhattan tenant eyeing a move to Jersey City. Citco Group Ltd., a company that provides services to hedge funds and has $250 billion in assets, leased 69,500 square feet at Harborside Financial Center Plaza X earlier this year and plans to relocate as many as 300 workers from its offices at 350 Madison Ave.
The average asking rent for commercial space in northern New Jersey is $26 per square foot, according to Cushman & Wakefield Inc.'s first-quarter market report. In Manhattan, the average asking rent is $55 in midtown and $35 downtown. Advocates of the New Jersey market also cite lower utility costs, an abundance of more efficiently designed office space, and tempting tax incentives.
Comments? JSatow@crain.com
©2006 Crain Communications Inc.
posted by Jones Lang LaSalle NJ News Blog at 10:17 AM
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