EmblemHealth signed a large, long-term lease prior to the pandemic to stay at 55 Water Street. It’s offloading part of that space to a subtenant.
Transportation technology firm Verra Mobility is subleasing 57,000 square feet at the Financial District building, the Commercial Observer reported. The 10-year deal gives the company a new Northeast headquarters, which was temporarily located on Broad Street.
Asking rent for the second-floor space at the property — owned by the Retirement Systems of Alabama — was not disclosed. The average asking rent in Lower Manhattan during the third quarter was $57.95 per square foot, according to CBRE.
Newmark‘s Ira Rovitz, Chris Ventura and Rohan Kapoor represented Verra, while CBRE’s Paul Haskin represented EmblemHealth, formerly known as the Health Insurance Plan of Greater New York.
In May 2019, EmblemHealth leased 440,000 square feet across 13 floors in a 15-year renewal at the building. The deal came a year after the company was said to be considering leaving the building and subleasing its space.
The 53-story building has been home to a couple of significant leasing deals this year. In April, telecommunications service provider MetTel expanded to 69,000 square feet. Two months later, engineering consultancy firm Jaros, Baum & Bolles signed on for 68,000 square feet.
In April 2022, not-for-profit health care system MJHS signed a lease for more than 138,000 square feet, the largest new lease in lower Manhattan in an 18-month span at the time, according to CBRE.
Sublet supply — a pandemic-era albatross — has declined by nearly 40 percent in two years and is back near pre-pandemic levels, according to a monthly office report from Colliers.
Tenants took 9.4 million square feet in the third quarter, a 2 percent jump from the second quarter and almost 27 percent higher than the five-year quarterly average. Leasing volume also surpassed 30 million square feet for the entire year, surging past pre-Covid levels and marking the strongest period of year-to-date demand since 2002.
— Holden Walter-Warner
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