Manatt Phelps Renews and Updates Times Square Tower Office
The 450-attorney law firm located in nine US cities is maintaining and renovating its New York office at 7 Times Square.
NEW YORK CITY—The law firm Manatt Phelps & Phillips has decided to keep its New York City office in 7 Times Square, a building located on Broadway, between 41st and 42nd streets.
The firm will remain on the 22nd through 24th floors of Times Square Tower, renewing its 80,265 square-foot lease with Boston Properties. Additional terms of the deal were not disclosed. However, industry sources tell GlobeSt.com that current asking rents range from the low-$80s to the mid-$90s per square foot.
The Savills Studley team of Mitch Steir, Howard Nottingham, John Mambrino and Jason Perla represented Manatt in this transaction. The brokerage firm, which has served as Manatt’s advisors for over 30 years, says they leveraged several aggressive proposals from other properties to negotiate very competitive economic terms including scalability. This enabled Manatt to renovate the space to satisfy its future needs.
“After a thorough market review and serious consideration of attractive relocation alternatives, Boston Properties’ renewal terms were the most competitive for Manatt,” says Steir. He asserts that following the renovation, Manatt’s workplace will have the design and amenities to attract and retain top talent as the firm continues to grow in New York.
Manatt has been a building tenant since the 48-floor, 1.2 million square-foot office tower was completed in 2004. The law firm will soon begin its renovations which will increase space efficiency and support its future business needs. It will add centralized meeting and collaboration areas and a new conference center with multi-purpose rooms. The redesign will incorporate more glass to increase natural light, views and open space, while maintaining office privacy.
Boston Properties, at the same time, will be upgrading the building. The owner developer will add a new tenant café on the fifth floor, the sky lobby level. The Commercial Observer reported that Andy Levin and Heather Kahn of Boston Properties negotiated the lease for the landlord, as first noted in The New York Post. In October 2013, GlobeSt.com reported Boston Properties sold a 45% interest in Times Square Tower for $684 million in cash, forming a joint venture with an affiliate of Norges Bank. In the deal, Boston Properties agreed to handle the property management and leasing services.
Other tenants recently renewing at Times Square Tower include Ann Inc., the parent company of Ann Taylor, LOFT, and Lou & Grey; and Brown Rudnick.