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COMMERCIAL OFFICE
Commercial Office Leasing
One Pierrepont Plaza, Brookfield Properties’ 19-story, 775,000 sq. ft. office building signed a lease with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) for 192,000 sq. ft. The MTA is moving from office space at 180 Livingston Street in Downtown Brooklyn and at 333 West 34th Street in Manhattan. Expected occupancy is late 2023.
Community High School, a charter school that operates in the Community Partnership Charter School network, signed a 35,000 sq. ft. lease at 250 Jay Street. The building was previously occupied by New York City College of Technology (City Tech).
Nevins Associates has renewed its lease with the New York City Police Department’s Special Victims Division for the entire 42,179 sq. ft. building at 45 Nevins Street. The NYPD has occupied the building for more than 20 years.
COMMERCIAL OFFICE VACANCY + RENTS
The overall office vacancy rate in Downtown Brooklyn held steady year-over-year at 20.1%. Overall vacancy rates in Downtown Brooklyn remain below all three Manhattan submarkets which saw overall vacancy rates increase. This is the second consecutive quarter with Manhattan’s office submarket having overall vacancies above 22%. Vacancies are expected to rise as 141 Willoughby Street hits the market this spring.
Downtown Brooklyn saw overall office rents increase 5.6% year-over-year to $56.71 per sq. ft. This is the third consecutive quarter where overall rents are higher in Downtown Brooklyn than in Lower Manhattan. The increase in rents was partially due to larger spaces at 15
177 Livingston Street, an 86,000 sq. ft. office building, recently signed a 15,170 sq. ft. lease with HeartShare Human Services of New York, an organization focused on people with intellectual and development disabilities.
16 Court Street, CIM Group’s 36-story, 317,600 sq. ft. office building, signed four leases in the first quarter, totaling nearly 24,000 sq. ft. Sasaki Associates, an architecture, landscape and design firm, will occupy 9,500 sq. ft. Sasaki acquired Brooklyn-based firm, DLANDstudio in May 2022, which was originally based at 44 Court Street. Pineapple Street Studios, a podcast production company, will relocate from Midtown South and occupy 5,535 sq. ft. New Deal Strategies, a political consulting firm, has taken 4,200 sq. ft., moving from 137 Montague Street. Lastly, personal injury law firm Freidman Sanchez, LLP has extended its 4,400 sq. ft. lease.
Metrotech, 26 Court Street and 195 Montague Street become available with asking rents starting in the $50s per sq. ft.
Between available space and comparable asking rents, competition with the Lower Manhattan office market is stiff. Lower Manhattan has as much direct office space being marketed for lease as the entire inventory of Downtown Brooklyn - 13.4 million sq. ft. Lower Manhattan also has a larger quantity of older office product and a significant number of sublet spaces, pushing overall office rents lower than Downtown Brooklyn.
