Brookfield Lands 74 KSF Tenant at Manhattan Tower
An international bank will relocate to this recently completed high-rise.
Spanish bank BBVA will relocate its New York City headquarters to 74,000 square feet at Two Manhattan West, the 1.9 million-square-foot office tower owned by Brookfield Properties. JLL and Cushman & Wakefield arranged the lease for the tenant, while the ownership had in-house representation.
BBVA previously occupied 42,000 square feet at 1345 Sixth Ave., as reported by the New York Post. The bank will begin the moving process in late 2024 and occupy space on floors eight and nine at the 58-story high-rise.Â
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Recently completed, Two Manhattan West will welcome its first tenants in the beginning of 2024. With the addition of BBVA, the building became 80 percent preleased. Other tenants include KPMG, Clifford Chance and D.E. Shaw Group.
One of Manhattan West’s four office towers
Two Manhattan West came online in July as one of the four office towers at Manhattan West, a 7.2 million-square-foot mixed-use neighborhood that is part of the Hudson Yards Redevelopment. The 8-acre project also includes a hotel, a residential building, 240,000 square feet of retail space and a 2-acre public plaza.
Brookfield broke ground on the high-rise in 2019 without any commitment from an office tenant and obtained more than $1.9 billion in construction financing over the course of three years. The development topped out in 2022.
Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the LEED Gold-certified building has floorplates ranging from 35,000 to 38,000 square feet and amenities such as fitness rooms, conference spaces and outdoor terraces. Located at 389 Ninth Ave., on Manhattan’s West Side, the building is one city block from Madison Square Garden and within walking distance of transportation hubs such as Penn Station and Moynihan Train Hall.  Â
Manhattan’s asking rate contracts
JLL Vice Chairman Joe Messina and Cushman & Wakefield Executive Director Paul Ferraro negotiated on behalf of BBVA. Brookfield Properties was represented by its Executive Vice President Duncan McCuaig and Senior Vice President Mikael Nahmias, along with Vice President David Caperna and Associate Daniel Roberts.
As of October, the vacancy rate in Manhattan registered a 2.8 percent year-over-year increase reaching 17.4 percent, being just slightly below the national average of 17.8 percent, according to a recent CommercialEdge report. Meanwhile, the borough remained the priciest market in the country with a listing rate of $70.71; however, the figure marked a 5.4 percent year-over-year drop.
