From left: 333 Johnson Avenue, 250 Livingston Street and 12 MetroTech Center (Credit: Google Maps)
City agencies provided the Brooklyn office market with a big jolt last year.
Deals for different government departments accounted for four of the 10 largest office leases in the borough by square footage. The city’s Human Resources Administration grabbed the top spot with a lease for almost 350,000 square feet at 250 Livingston Street, and new leases for the Administration for Children’s Services, New York City Department of Transportation and Manhattan District Attorney’s Office all cracked the top 10 as well. The largest lease for a private company was Netflix, which grabbed the No. 2 spot overall with a deal for 161,000 square feet at 333 Johnson Avenue.
Downtown Brooklyn, Williamsburg, Fort Greene and Dumbo each had two leases each in the top 10, while Bushwick and Sunset Park both had one lease on the list as well.
The full list of Brooklyn’s 10 largest office leases for 2019 is as follows:
1. New York City Human Resources Administration, 250 Livingston Street, Downtown Brooklyn — 342,496 square feet
The largest office lease of the year in Brooklyn by a wide margin was the city’s Human Resources Administration, which took more than 342,000 square feet at Clipper Equity’s Downtown Brooklyn property. The 10-year lease should net David Bistricer’s firm almost $15 million per year at roughly $44 per square foot. This almost doubles the prior rent of $7.7 million.
2. Netflix, 333 Johnson Avenue, East Williamsburg — 161,000 square feet
The streaming giant plans to build six sound stages and support spaces in this warehouse. It should be able to house thousands of workers at the location within five years. Steel Equities purchased the building in 2018 for $53 million. JLL represented Netflix in the deal.
3. Administration for Children’s Services, 12 MetroTech Center, Downtown Brooklyn — 128,216 square feet
Another city agency in Downtown Brooklyn took the No. 3 spot thanks to ACS leasing about 130,000 square feet from Brookfield Properties. The 20-year lease comes with two five-year renewal options and is for the 27th, 28th and 30th floors of the building, along with part of the 26th floor. The lease is meant to consolidate the multiple different office locations ACS has in the borough and help prevent it from duplicating services and space.
4. NYC Department of Transportation, 101 Varick Avenue, Bushwick — 92,000 square feet
The third city agency to make the list is the DOT, which is leasing 92,000 square feet in a vacant warehouse owned by the Rabsky Group. The city’s DOT inked a 20-year lease at the property for about $30 per square foot, and the site includes a car park spanning 62,000 square feet at $15 per square foot. Rabsky purchased the building in 2015 for $48 million. CBRE represented the DOT in the deal. 5. Rent the Runway, 10 Jay Street, Dumbo — 83,051 square feet
Women’s fashion company Rent the Runway inked slightly more than 83,000 square feet in Glacier Global Partners’ and Triangle Assets’ building on the Brooklyn waterfront. The landlords converted the former warehouse into an office property targeting TAMI tenants. Rent the Runway is moving to Brooklyn from its space in Hudson Square, where Google is expanding. CBRE represented the tenant in the deal.
6. Manhattan District Attorney, 4312 Second Avenue, Sunset Park — 76,613 square feet
The Manhattan District Attorney’s office inked a lease that had long been in the works at Commodore Manufacturing Corporation’s Sunset Park building. The 11-year deal spans the entire fifth floor of the building, which the office will use for records and evidence storage space, and the rent will initially be $21 per square foot but gradually rise to $29 per square foot, according to Commercial Observer. The office was previously in the building on a month-to-month lease. CBRE represented the tenant in the deal.
7. Bednark Studio, Brooklyn Navy Yard Building 28, Fort Greene — 62,000 square feet
Bednark Studio, a commercial design firm, signed a 10-year lease in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, relocating from its prior spot in Bushwick. The company is leasing the space from the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation.
8. ResCare Workforce Services, 470 Vanderbilt Avenue, Fort Greene — 59,000 square feet
The home healthcare provider’s lease at RXR Realty’s building is for 10 years, and CBRE represented them in the deal. ResCare inked its lease in February, and RXR landed a $157 million loan on the property from Bank of America in March. RXR bought the building for slightly less than $195 million in 2014, marking one of the largest office deals in Brooklyn history.
9. Kith, 25 Kent Avenue, Williamsburg — 58,000 square feet
The fashion brand Kith leased 58,000 square feet at Rubenstein Partners’ and Heritage Equity Partners’ 25 Kent Avenue in Williamsburg. Roughly 90 of Kith’s employees will work in the property, and the company will relocate from its current headquarters in Soho. The developers had built the project on spec, and Kith is the first tenant to sign on.
10. SoHo Works, 10 Jay Street, Dumbo — 50,000 square feet
The list closes out with another lease at Glacier Global Partners’ and Triangle Assets’ 10 Jay Street building, courtesy of a 50,000-square-foot lease from the co-working company SoHo Works. The 15-year lease includes parts of the ground floor, along with all of the second and fifth floors, and it will be the first SoHo Works location in the city, according to Commercial Observer. JLL represented the tenant.
Source: The Real Deal’s deal sheet, brokerage data, as provided by Newmark Knight Frank, industry and news reports. These charts relies on submissions from firms and can exclude unreported deals. Pop-ups were excluded.