This week, Pinterest finalized a significant lease for 83,000 square feet at 11 Madison Ave., marking another positive development in Manhattan’s office market.
Landlord SL Green welcomed the visual discovery platform, which is dramatically expanding its local presence, more than doubling its footprint from its previous location at 225 Park Ave. S.
This deal pushes the occupancy of the renowned 30-story, 2.3 million square foot tower—home to notable tenants like UBS, Sony, and IMG—to an impressive 92%.
Asking rents for the newly leased space on the 13th floor were pegged at $90 per square foot, invoking interest from various firms.
JLL’s Evan Margolin, Justin Haber, and Michael Berg represented Pinterest during the negotiation, while Newmark’s Brian Waterman, Scott Klau, Erik Harris, and Brent Ozarowski acted on behalf of SL Green.
In terms of market dynamics, this lease stands as the largest signed by a technology, advertising, media, and information services sector tenant in Midtown South during the second quarter of the year.
Despite an 18.9% drop in overall Manhattan office leasing activity compared to the first quarter, the first half of 2025 emerged as the most active for the city since 2014, according to findings from Colliers.
In other notable leasing news, Little Big Hospitality is making headlines with its plans to open a 45,000 square feet location at CIM Group’s 50 Columbia Heights in Brooklyn.
The new site at the Panorama office building will function as The Beginning Clubhouse, a membership club designed for families.
Tenant representation came from Savitt Partners’ Marc Schoen, while Newmark’s Peter Whitenack, Mai Shachi, and Andrew Connolly represented the landlord.
Meanwhile, Monroe Capital has expanded its footprint by 15,000 square feet at Munich Re’s 320 Park Ave.
The firm recently moved from 126 E. 56th St. to the building’s 30th floor, where rents stood at $140 per square foot last December.
As interest in Park Avenue office space maintains a steady flow, asking rents for Monroe’s new location reportedly increased, now reaching $170 per square foot for the 21st floor.
Tenant representation for Monroe came from Greg Taubin of Savills, while JLL’s Frank Doyle, Dave Kleiner, and Carlee Palmer represented the landlord.
In another development, L.E.K. Consulting has announced its relocation to 54,000 square feet at 1166 Sixth Ave.
The business strategy and solutions firm is moving from 114 W. 47th St. to occupy the entire 25th floor, along with part of the 24th floor of the building known as The International Paper Building.
Investors Edward J. Minskoff Equities and Marsh McLennan own condo interests in this prominent 44-story tower, which also houses FTI Consulting and Axis Capital among its tenants.
The landlord’s representation came from Newmark’s Andy Sachs, David Falk, Peter Shimkin, and Tim Gibson, whereas Savills’ Allyson Bowen represented L.E.K. Consulting.
Warren Equity Partners has signed a lease for 24,000 square feet at Rockrose’s 11 E. 26th St. after moving from its previous location at 251 Park Ave. S.
Asking rents in this boutique, 21-story office building were $145 per square foot.
CBRE’s Ben Friedland, Gary Davies, and Owen Reda represented Warren Equity, while William Cohen and Ariel Harwood of Newmark acted on behalf of the landlord.
Turning to financing deals, Brookfield Properties has completed a $400 million refinancing deal for its 745-unit multifamily building at 1 Eagle St. in Brooklyn.
New financing came from JPMorgan and Citi, effectively replacing a prior loan of equal value from Blackstone.
This refinancing supports the property despite ongoing tenant complaints regarding maintenance and cleanliness, as reported by Curbed.
In another financing milestone, Baron Property Group and LargaVista Cos. secured a $389 million construction loan from Starwood Capital Group, Gotham Organization, and Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies for a multifamily development in Long Island City.
The ambitious project, a 46-story tower at 30-25 Queens Blvd., is already under construction and aims to deliver 451 rental apartments along with 110 for-sale condominiums by 2028.
Additionally, BFC Partners has obtained a $250 million construction loan for its residential development project at 1709 Surf Ave.
This financing pertains to the third and final phase of their three-building plan, which is projected to include 420 affordable apartments.
Citi Community Capital provided this round of funding, building on previous financing from both the New York City Housing Development Corp. and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development.
Meanwhile, Rentar Development’s Rentar Plaza at 66-26 Metropolitan Ave. in Middle Village successfully secured a $160 million CMBS refinancing deal.
This three-story, mixed-use retail and industrial asset encompasses 1.4 million square feet, anchored by BJ’s Wholesale Club.
Rentar had also signed a 10-year, 300,000 square foot lease with Amazon earlier this year.
The financing was arranged by Deutsche Bank and UBS, coordinated through BayBridge Real Estate Capital.
In a smaller venture, Frank Ng of 28th Street Properties LLC refinanced the Aloft Hotel at 132 W. 28th St. in Chelsea with $65 million from Cathay Bank.
This new funding retires a prior loan amounting to $66.5 million from Shanghai Commercial Bank for the hotel, which features 236 keys across a 125,000 square foot space.
Lastly, Brooklyn-based developer Hung Pin Hung has secured a $61.7 million construction loan for a reframed hotel development site at 842 Sixth Ave.
Originally stagnated, this 26-story project was transformed into a residential condo building after Pro-H acquired it in 2024 for $30 million.
Renderings outlining the 27-story condo tower were released in May, indicating progress on the project’s next stage with financing from Urban Standard Capital.
Additionally, Jay Group has obtained a $53 million loan for a 99-unit residential building at 165 Willoughby St. in Downtown Brooklyn, courtesy of Ponce Bank.
This project constitutes part of a five-building complex, each anticipated to reach 30 stories and deliver approximately 90 units.
The new loan supersedes a previous amount of $15.7 million from the same lender.
In sales news, HF Capital made waves by acquiring a 166-unit rental property located at 7420 Ridge Blvd. for $24.4 million.
This property, boasting addresses at both 7410 and 7420 Ridge Blvd., comprises one six-story building with retail tenants including a piano technician and an event planner.
The seller, LeFrak, had held ownership since 1996.
Finally, an interesting auction event occurred at 30 Broad St., known as the Continental Bank Building, where the property changed hands with a winning bid of just $1,000.
Lender InterVest Capital Partners submitted the sole bid after filing for foreclosure last year when an affiliate of Tribeca Investment Group defaulted, with an outstanding principal balance of $117.2 million, according to a complaint filed in Manhattan’s Supreme Court last July.
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