Silverstein Properties Lands 52K-SF Office Lease in Downtown NYC

Silverstein Properties has secured a 52,000-square-foot lease deal with The Original Bark Company at its office building in Downtown Manhattan. The dog products subscription-service brand signed a 15-year lease to occupy the full 12th floor at 120 Broadway.

The Original Bark Company is relocating to the building from its current location at 221 Canal Street, where the company occupied multiple smaller floors. This new location will serve as the company’s headquarters, and according to Joseph Artusa, SVP of leasing at Silverstein Properties, the move illustrates a trend of more creative and tech-forward companies moving into the property.

Any notable deal in Manhattan is enough to pique interest. During the pandemic, the New York City office market tumbled as companies transitioned to remote work. This year, the market has rapidly rebounded with several major transactions. Earlier this month, seven lease transactions totaling 240,000 square feet in Midtown Manhattan helped to illustrate the increasing activity in the market. Office owner LeFrak completed five lease transactions totaling 100,000 square feet at 40 West 57th Street in New York City’s Plaza District. At 1166 Avenue of the Americas, a property owned by Edward J. Minskoff Equities Inc., William Blair completed a lease extension and expansion totaling 80,000 square feet, nearly doubling its current footprint at the property, and Ryan Specialty Group signed a lease for 40,000 square feet. The company is relocating from 1345 Avenue of the Americas.

This leasing activity builds on a strong third quarter, when office leasing registered its strongest performance since the onset of the pandemic, according to CBRE’s Q3 2021 Manhattan market report. Third-quarter Manhattan leasing totaled 5.88 million sq. ft., up 70% from Q2 2021. However, the Q3 total was still 5% below the five-year quarterly average of 6.16 million square feet. For the year-to-date, Manhattan leasing has outpaced the same period in 2020 by 13%.

The Original Bark Company deal is part of a trend of young companies moving into Lower Manhattan. Joe Artusa and Camille McGratty of Silverstein Properties, and Scott Klau, Brian Waterman and Erik Harris of Newmark represented the landlord in the deal. Greg Taubin of Savills represented the tenant.