The Manhattan office-leasing surge that’s mostly been concentrated in Midtown is finally helping to lift the boat downtown.
JLL reports that leasing volume and rents across the district’s 95.6 million square feet increased noticeably in the third quarter over the same period last year.
Vacancy fell a full percentage point to 23% while asking rents increased 3.1% to $59.56 per square foot.
Michael Colacino, JLL’s president of tristate brokerage, said, “The big story this month is Downtown’s comeback, with activity nearly double last year’s. All of this points to a market where acting early will matter, as rents rise and the best spaces get snapped up quickly.”
The largest deal was a direct lease for financial firm GFI Group for 112,783 square feet at 55 Water St. — more than doubling its previous space in the tower.
Of course, what downtown really wants is news of Larry Silverstein’s talks with AmEx over a possible agreement to finally get 2 World Trade Center off the ground. Everyone with even the least awareness clams up nervously when asked about it. But after two previous non-binding agreements at the site fell through, don’t expect to hear anything credible until a contract is signed with no escape clause.
