Law Firm Inks 235K SF Lease at 30 Hudson Yards

For the average Manhattan office tower, filling up more than 300K SF of space offered for sublease would be a daunting task in a market with nearly a 20% vacancy rate.

For Related’s 2.6M SF crown jewel at 30 Hudson Yards, it’s merely a blip.

Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), the largest tenant at 30 Hudson Yards, has been consolidating operations since the 2022 merger of AT&T’s Warner Media with Discovery.

The consolidation freed up 310K SF of WBD’s total of 1.4M SF at 30 Hudson Yards, but the open space at the coveted new office tower has been snapped up by new tenants, according to a report in the New York Post.

Law firm Covington & Burling has inked a sublease for 235K SF at 30 Hudson Yards, where it will relocate next year from the New York Times Building at 620 Eighth Avenue, the Post reported. The move represents an expansion for the firm, which currently occupies 200K SF at the Times building.

Proprietary trading firm Susquehanna International Group (SIG) will be moving into about 74K SF of WBD’s space at 30 Hudson Yards from 140 Broadway, the report said.

WBD remains the largest tenant at 30 Hudson Yards, including five floors encompassing 300K SF that are occupied by CNN. KKR and Wells Fargo own space as condo units at 30 Hudson Yards.

According to the newspaper report, the subleases for Covington and SIG at 30 Hudson Yards eventually will convert to direct leases with Related. In conjunction with the transactions, Related plans to redesign the tower’s ground-floor lobby, sky lobby and amenities, including a high-floor outdoor terrace that was previously unused, the Post said.

In 2015, Wells Fargo purchased about 500K SF of office space at 30 Hudson Yards that the bank is using to house its securities, investment banking and capital markets business.

Last fall, Wells Fargo bought the former Neiman Marcus retail space at 20 Hudson Yards for $550M, with plans convert it into more office space. When it committed to a 50-year lease at 20 Hudson Yards in 2014, Neiman Marcus was supposed to be the retail centerpiece for the Hudson Yards development.

Neiman Marcus opened the luxury retail chain’s first store in Manhattan at 20 Hudson Yards in 2019, a 188K SF store filled with curated fashions, as well as several bars and restaurants, video screens and artwork.

A combination of pandemic lockdowns and a heavy debt load forced Neiman Marcus into bankruptcy in 2020. In July, 2020, the Dallas-based retailer shut its stores in Manhattan, Florida and Washington state.