Innocence Project Renews and Expands at 40 Worth St.

NEW YORK CITY—The Innocence Project, founded in 1992 by Peter Neufeld and Barry Scheck at the Cardozo School of Law, is a non-profit that works to exonerate people who are wrongly convicted of crimes. It’s known for its use of DNA evidence and advocacy for criminal justice reform.

The organization signed a deal with GFP Real Estate to remain at 40 Worth St. in Lower Manhattan, expanding to 34,000 square feet in a 10-year lease. Rents were not disclosed but CoStar notes that in the building a deal signed last year for $60 per square foot.

In 2010, the Innocence Project first moved to the location leasing 20,000 square feet on the seventh floor. In 2014, it expanded another 3,000 square feet. As the Innocence Project continued to grow, it retained  John Mambrino and Nicholas Farmakis from Savills.

During a two-year search when 40 Worth St. was 100% leased, one of the Innocence Project’s neighboring tenants, Maesa, needed to relocate. Savills arranged a three-party transaction where Maesa cancelled its lease with GFP four years early and the Innocence Project leased 18,250 square feet of Maesa’s space. The non-profit shed a small portion of its own space, and maintained the rest of its lease. In its renewal, the Innocence Project leased approximately 34,000 square feet all on the seventh floor and received a tenant improvement allowance to build out its new space.

“As the Innocence Project was coming closer to its 2021 lease expiration, when considering the capital expense of a relocation as well as the organization’s strong relationship with GFP, renewing and expanding to Maesa’s space was the best solution,” says Farmakis.

Roy Lapidus of Newmark Knight Frank represented GFP.

Built in 1929, 40 Worth St. is a 750,000-square-foot neo-classical building situated between Church Street and West Broadway. Building tenants include the non-profits the Acumen Fund and the Legal Aid Society. It also houses the East Coast headquarters of The Gap.