Financial services giant GFI Group, which has been a tenant at 55 Water St. since 2007, is more than doubling its space there.
The firm is expanding by 64,993 square feet and also renewing 63,756 square feet.
The rent at the 1972-vintage tower was $59 per square foot, reflecting the typical differential over prices in Midtown and at the World Trade Center.
The additional space represents a consolidation by GFI from 199 Water St., where it had 70,000 square feet.
GFI’s long-term commitment at 55 Water is the largest direct lease in the district since August 2023, according to Howard Fiddle, leader of a CBRE team representing landlord New Water Street Corporation that included Brad Gerla, Evan Haskell and William Hooks. Newmark’s Jared Horowitz and Hall Stein repped GFI.
The massive, 4 million square-foot tower overlooking the East River saw 200,000 square feet of leasing prior to the GFI deal earlier this year.
CBRE’s Gerla said, “This expansion is a big win for both the building and the submarket.” He noted that Downtown is on pace for its largest leasing total this year since 2019.
The tower has 436,000 square feet available, including a rare block of 330,000 square feet.
Rottenstreich Farley Bronstein Fisher Potter & Hodas converted 18,820 square feet from a sublease to direct space at SL Green’s 500 Park Avenue.
The law firm’s managing partner Dan Rottenstreich said, “With its unique look, history, and location, 500 Park Avenue feels more like a home than a commercial office space — to us and to our clients.”
The building has a total of 201,000 square feet of luxury office and retail space. Office tenants include Vera Wang, Tom Ford Fashion and The Georgetown Company. Offices are 90.1% leased. Asking rents are $120 per square foot.
