Union Investment’s 140 Broadway in Manhattan has secured a new tenant, with law firm Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith signing a lease for 70,000 square feet, as reported by the New York Business Journal. The agreement, disclosed in a CBRE report, represents the second-largest office lease in Lower Manhattan during the third quarter.
Lewis Brisbois will take up three floors at 140 Broadway and plans to accommodate more than 200 lawyers at the location. A partner at the firm commented, “The space will help us meet our ever-increasing demand from new and existing clients,” and highlighted the property’s proximity to legal courts as a benefit.
While the specific asking rent for the lease was not revealed, market data from Avison Young shows that the average asking rent in the Financial District stands at $61.99 per square foot.
The law firm expects to move into its new offices next year, departing from 7 World Trade Center, where it had been temporarily based. Previously, Lewis Brisbois was located at 77 Water Street, a property currently being converted into residential use by the Vanbarton Group. This move makes Lewis Brisbois at least the second tenant to relocate from 77 Water Street to 140 Broadway, following Arup, a global sustainable development consultancy that recently leased nearly 100,000 square feet at the same building.
When Arup signed its lease, approximately 300,000 square feet remained available at the 51-story, 1.25 million-square-foot tower.
Leasing activity in Manhattan’s office market has shown signs of recovery. In the third quarter, tenants leased 9.4 million square feet, which is a 2 percent increase over the previous quarter and almost 27 percent higher than the five-year quarterly average. According to a Colliers report, total leasing volume for the year has already exceeded 30 million square feet, surpassing pre-pandemic levels and representing the strongest year-to-date demand since 2002.
