Lower Manhattan office space tours on the rise despite Downtowns struggling properties

Published

2 years ago

April 1, 2024

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The Downtown office market is in even worse shape than widely reported data indicate, according to several major dealmakers.

One of them, an industry legend not given to doom-and-gloom scenarios, told us that huge amounts of space are quietly up for sublease even at the World Trade Center and Brookfield Place Lower Manhattans best-performing properties.

Most brokerage firms cite FiDi-area availability including space currently vacant or soon to be — at between 20% and 23%, compared with around 16% uptown. But so-called shadow space cited by the market insider could raise the total much higher.

Not every building is in trouble. The districts grim overall data are skewed by two particular enormous properties Paramount Groups transitioning 60 Wall Street, where most of 1.6 million square feet are yet to be leased, and 111 Wall Street, an entirely empty 1 million square-foot address thats now in foreclosure.

But other struggling buildings are also on the downbound train, such as 40 Wall Street. The landmark tower is about 30% empty and its plight will likely worsen as the Trump Organization skyscraper is at risk of seizure by state attorney general Letitia James.

Even more vulnerable are Downtowns large number of pre-war, Class B-minus buildings that few tenants want at any rent and which cant easily convert to residential use.

Yet hope might be on the way. According to VTS, the national real estate technology platform that uses AI to monitor and interpret market office-space tours — look-sees by companies eyeing a move or expansion have recently been higher Downtown than in Midtown or Midtown South.

Lower Manhattan saw 40% more so-called tire-kicking visits in the months of December 2023 through February 2024 than it did between September and November 2023.

A 43% increase in tours month over month easily beat Midtowns 25% and Midtown Souths 11%, according to VTS. Much of the tenant interest Downtown was by companies seeking 50,000 square feet or more.

VTS chief strategy officer Ryan Masiello said, I think generally, companies are starting to realize were at the bottom of the market right now. More companies are exploring to try to take advantage of lower rents, especially downtown, he said.

But one highly accomplished downtown market-watcher was skeptical of VTS findings.

They can only be true if theyre including the smallest users. It definitely is not true of tenants looking for more than 20,000 square feet, the insider said.

Manhattan leasing in all submarkets hit the mute button in the first quarter, according to Savills which cited a dearth of large deals.

The first quarters 6.8 million sf of transactions was 6.6% lower than in the first three months of 2023, Savills said.

Interestingly, three of the largest office deals were renewals and/or expansions by major retailers — including for Michael Kors, Burlington Stores and David Yurman, which tallied a total of nearly a half-million square feet.

At least one major landlord saw some positive news. At SL Greens 485 Lexington Ave., four recent new leases and one renewal totalled 64,303 square feet.

Leasing director Steven Durels said, Our recent success at 485 Lexington confirms that well-located buildings are experiencing increased tenant demand.

In the two largest new leases, RSC Insurance Brokerage took 27,964 square feet on the entire 17th floor and Exponent, Inc., an engineering and scientific consulting firm, took 14,383-square feet on the 22nd floor.

Smaller deals include capital markets company William ONeil & Co. for 4,797 square feet and Graham Holdings Company signed for 3,006 square feet.

In addition, Tegna, Inc., a broadcast, digital media and marketing services company, renewed its 14,078-square-foot lease on the 27th floor.

US

Donald Trump awarded FIFA peace prize at World Cup draw

Published

2 hours ago

December 5, 2025

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Donald Trump awarded FIFA peace prize at World Cup draw

US President Donald Trump has been awarded FIFA’s new peace prize at the draw for next year’s World Cup.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino presented Mr Trump with a large golden trophy – formed of hands holding the earth – and a gold medal, which he wore around his neck.

The certificate, which Mr Infantino handed over at Washington DC’s Kennedy Center on Friday, recognises the US president for his actions to “promote peace and unity around the world”.

World football’s governing body, which announced the annual award last month, said it would be given to “individuals who have taken exceptional and extraordinary actions for peace”.

World Cup draw latest: Home nations and Republic of Ireland await fate

Mr Trump said it was “truly one of the greatest honours of my life”.

He said: “We saved millions and millions of lives. The Congo is an example – over 10 million people killed. It was heading for another 10 million very quickly.”

He also pointed to India and Pakistan, saying, “so many wars that we were able to end, in some cases a little before they started”.

Ahead of the draw, Mr Trump told reporters he did not care about the prize, but noted that he had “settled eight wars” in nearly 11 months in office.

The United States, along with Canada and Mexico, will host the tournament in 2026.

Mr Infantino, who has built up a strong relationship with the US president, backed him for the Nobel Peace Prize earlier this year.

“This is what we want from a leader – a leader that cares about the people,” Mr Infantino said of Mr Trump.

The FIFA leader said to Mr Trump, “this is your prize, this is your peace prize”.

Mr Trump thanked his family, including his wife, first lady Melania Trump, and praised the leaders of the other two host nations – Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum – in his brief remarks.

Mr Infantino has often spoken about football as a unifier for the world, but the prize is a departure from the federation’s traditional focus on sport.

FIFA has described the prize as one that rewards “individuals who have taken exceptional and extraordinary actions for peace, and by doing so have united people across the world”.

The award comes during a week where Mr Trump’s administration has been under scrutiny for lethal strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and as Mr Trump hardens his rhetoric against immigrants.

The Nobel Peace Prize this year was eventually awarded to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who said shortly after receiving the prize that she was dedicating it in part to Mr Trump for “his decisive support of our cause”.

Technology

Amazon had a very big week that could shape where its stagnant stock goes next

Published

2 hours ago

December 5, 2025

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Amazon had a very big week that could shape where its stagnant stock goes next

Environment

Podcast: Tesla texting and driving, Trump kills mpg, Aptera update, and more

Published

2 hours ago

December 5, 2025

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Podcast: Tesla texting and driving, Trump kills mpg, Aptera update, and more

In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss Tesla allowing texting and driving on FSD v14, Trump killing CAFE’s MPG standard, an Aptera update, and more.

The show is live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek’s YouTube channel.

As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.

After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:

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We now have a Patreon if you want to help us avoid more ads and invest more in our content. We have some awesome gifts for our Patreons and more coming.

Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the podcast:

Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 4:00 p.m. ET (or the video after 5 p.m. ET:

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