Midtown South Tech Tenant Relocates in Near Triple Expansion

The repositioning of 50 West 23rd St. has paid dividends in the form of three large lease deals since June of last year.

NEW YORK CITY—Workplace learning and tech company Grovo has signed a lease for 70,000 square feet of space at 50 W. 23rd St. The agreement will bring the 340,000-square-foot property to 90% leased. Grovo inked a 10-year lease on floors five, six and 12. The company is relocating from its headquarters at 3 Park Ave. where it currently occupies 29,000 square feet of space. In the past year, Grovo has grown annual recurring revenue by 400% and has doubled its workforce from 100 to more than 200 employees. The relocation scheduled for the fall of this year follows the company’s $40-million Series C financing announced last month. The lease comes on the heels of last month’s announcement that Dropbox plans to move from 33 W. 19th St. to the Two Trees Management Co . property, taking 31,270 square feet across the entire fourth floor in a five-year lease with a five-year renewal option. In June of last year, audio-sharing company SoundCloud signed a five-year lease for 43,000-square-feet on the building’s ninth and 10th floors. “With Grovo’s new round of funding and a growing headcount, 50 West 23rd Street will provide the company’s employees with flexible, 21st century work space and an incredible shared rooftop oasis by the designers of the High Line,” says Jed Walentas , principal of Two Trees Management. “Building off of our success in DUMBO, where we learned that tech tenants need adaptable, open office space, 50 West 23rd Street has attracted top tenants across the industry.” “We’re incredibly excited to have identified a new location for Grovo that will accommodate our current and future growth,” adds Jeff Fernandez , co-founder and CEO of Grovo. “Expanding our presence in the New York tech landscape is important to us, and we’re particularly happy to be in one of the city’s leading neighborhoods for innovation. Our new home will provide open, communal areas for even more collaboration to accelerate our mission to deliver workplace learning programs people love.” Dan Conlon and Elizabeth Bueno , the in-house leasing team, brokered the lease on behalf of Two Trees. Colliers International ‘s Eric Ferriello , Robert Tunis and Michael Baraldi represented Grovo in the deal. Grovo’s new space is being designed by architect Bruce Schrimmer of Schrimmer Design Group . JIDK will oversee office interiors with New Vista Space managing the entire build out. Two Trees bought the 340,000-square-foot, 13-story pre-war building in the fall of 2010 for a reported price of $129.5 million. Since then, Two Trees invested $25 million in upgrades, including an 11,000-square-foot rooftop garden.