Office:
There is an increase in demand for Class A and high floors in Class B buildings. The rest of the office market is not renting and will likely become residential, if a conversion is possible.

Retail:
Retail leasing has picked up, as more workers return three days a week to the office.

Gym, Pubs and stores were the largest leases signed last month.

Buildings Sale:
Manhattan building sales were quiet in August. Uniqlo bought their own space at 666 Fifth Avenue for 350 Million and a large apartment building at 20 Exchange Place sold for $370 Million. Everyone is waiting to see if and when interest rates will decline.

New York Market Overview

Market Overview:

Manhattan Office Leasing volume is likely to surpass 29 million square feet, but still below 2019 levels. Office-to-residential conversions are taking large blocks of space off the market, with more to follow. The pace of office demand has a long way to go in order to absorb the office space that came to the market during Covid.

Midtown is having a moment. A few big deals boosted the leasing market last month, and the six largest were in Midtown.

Leasing volume grew nearly 60% from the previous month and surpassed the 2019 (pre-pandemic) monthly average of about 3.5 million square feet.

Manhattan’s availability rate fell from 17.9 to 17.6%. Sublet supply also tightened for the fifth consecutive month, dropping to its lowest level since April 2022.

Office:

  1. Hobby Lobby signed a new lease at 270 Greenwich Street for 70,700 sf.
  2. Socceroof signed a new lease at 28 Liberty Street for 20,000 sf.
  3. Whole Foods signed a new lease at 409 East 14th Street for 20,000 sf.
  4. TMPL, a gym, signed a new lease at 500 Metropolitan Avenue for 17,800 sf.
  5. Brasserie Cognac de Monsieur Ballon signed a new lease at 461 Fifth Avenue for 13,700 sf.
  6. Trimworld signed a new lease at 247 West 37th Street for 11,000 sf.
  7. Flight Club, a pub, signed a new lease at 31 Union Square West for 10,700 sf.
  8. William Norgard, a dispensary operator, signed a new lease at 30 Times Square for 10,000 sf.
  9. Sephora signed a new lease at 520 Madison Avenue for 6,300 sf.
  10. Le Jardin Café & Deli signed a new lease at 130 Water Street for 4,400 sf.
  11. Langan’s, an Irish pub, signed a new lease at 114 West 47th Street for 4,000 sf.


Retail:

  1. Willkie Farr & Gallagher renewed their lease for at least another 20 years at 787 Seventh Avenue for 315,000 sf.
  2. Ares Management signed a new 15-year lease, expanding by three floors, at 245 Park Avenue for 307,000 sf.
  3. Blackstone signed a new lease for 251,000 sf at 345 Park Avenue.
  4. CBRE signed a lease renewal at 200 Park Avenue for 180,000 sf for an additional 13 years.
  5. Elliott Investment Management signed a new lease at 280 Park Avenue for 149,000 sf.
  6. Tradeweb Markets signed a new lease at 245 Park Avenue for 76,000 sf.
  7. BlackRock signed a new lease expansion at 50 Hudson for 50,000 sf.
  8. The École signed a new lease at 120 East 23rd Street for 46,000 sf.
  9. Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath signed a new lease at 1177 Sixth Avenue for 42,000 sf.
  10. Spotify is set to sublease its 103,000-square-foot space at 4 World Trade Center to StubHub, who moved its headquarters to 3 World Trade early last year from taking a 44,000-square-foot lease on the 59th floor of the 80-story office building.
  11. Urban Edge Properties has handed back its keys to the Kingswood Center, a 220,000-square-foot commercial building at 1630 East 15th Street.


🤝
Tenant Representation: Optimal Spaces acts exclusively as a "Tenant Broker," only representing tenants, never landlords.
⚖️
Unbiased Service: Avoiding conflicts of interest, they provide impartial service, showing a wider range of properties and negotiating the best price.
🗂️
Comprehensive Process: Agents guide clients end-to-end, offering market surveys, floor plans, pricing expectations, and industry contacts.
🐷
Cost Savings: They negotiate rental price and identify/abate "hidden costs."

Why Optimal Spaces –
Tenant Broker

  • No fee for clients renting space.
  • We work for YOU, not the landlord.
  • Save 15–20% on your business costs.
  • Save 100–200 hours of research.
  • Access to all available spaces.
  • Specialized real estate expertise.

Alone or with other broker

  • Miss deals and hard-to-find spaces.
  • Potential conflict of interest (often represent landlords).
  • Only 10% of available spaces are online.
  • Lack of specialized expertise.
  • May not get the best terms or uncover hidden costs.
Why Use a Tenant Broker: Your Advocate in Commercial Real Estate
1. The Crucial Distinction: Whose Side Are They On?
Landlord Rep (Listing Agent) — Fiduciary Duty: Landlord. Highest rent, best terms for landlord.
Tenant Rep (Tenant Broker) — Fiduciary Duty: Tenant Only. Lowest rent, best terms for tenant. Levels the playing field.
2. It Almost Always Costs You Nothing
3. Access to “Hidden” Inventory
4. Negotiating Beyond Base Rent
Landlord pays the broker fee — free expert representation for the tenant.
Access to hidden inventory: off-market listings, subleases, and future availabilities via broker databases and networks.
Negotiating beyond base rent: free rent, TI allowance, OPEX caps, and lease flexibility for renewal or expansion.
5. Time Savings & Process Management
6. Mitigating Risk (the “Gotchas”)
Tenant broker handles searching, scheduling, and RFPs — your outsourced real estate department with curated options and timeline management.
Mitigating risk: spotting pitfalls in LOI and lease such as restoration clauses and holdover penalties.
Summary: Don’t rely on the landlord’s agent. A tenant broker is your advocate, provides better data, negotiates a complete package, and typically costs you nothing.
  • Page 1

join our mailing list

Thank you! we will be in touch.
Please enter a valid email address is required. Your email is required to be at least 3 characters That is not a valid email. Please input a valid email. Your email cannot be longer than 20 characters
Please enter a valid email address is required.