Verizon has renewed its office lease in Downtown Manhattan. According to Newmark's third-quarter overview of the asset class, it was the largest deal in the third quarter for the region.

The renewal is for more than 172,000 square feet of space at 60 Hudson Street. While the terms were unclear, the lease was significantly larger than StubHub's sublease renewal at 4 World Trade Center, which took 103,188 square feet for second place in Downtown Manhattan.

60 Hudson has undergone major renovations in recent years, completing upgrades to elevators, restrooms, and the electrical and mechanical systems. Plus, the one million square foot property now includes an extra cooling tower and an additional 240,000 square feet of data center space. In fact, Tony Gulotta, principal in charge at NYC office for global tax firm, Ryan LLC recently told GlobeSt. that 60 Hudson is standing
out with the power the building can offer to tech companies in need.

Google owned the biggest deal in Midtown South in the third quarter thanks to its 297,000-square-foot renewal at 85 Tenth Avenue. Blackstone took the crown for the entire Midtown region, with its more than one million lease extension and expansion at 345 Park Avenue, according to Newmark.

In total, office leasing has climbed to 26.1 million square feet year-to-date, an increase of 24.7 percent from the same period in 2023.

Average asking rents averaged $75.97 per square foot in Manhattan in the three months ending September. The Midtown South area was the most expensive, at $82.56 per square foot. Midtown and Downtown averaged $82.56 and $57.29, respectively. Net absorption remained negative year-to-date at 7.4 million square feet, a small improvement from the 7.6 million a year ago. Plus, availability is starting to decline.

"Unlike previous years, the amount of new construction space on the horizon has decreased significantly, with only 197,858 SF expected to deliver this year," Newmark wrote.

"Leasing activity is on pace to surpass 2023 totals with several large deals expected to close in the fourth quarter."