Freshly Inks 92 KSF Lease in Midtown South for New HQ

63 Madison Ave. Image courtesy of George Comfort & Sons

Meal delivery company Freshly is quadrupling its Manhattan footprint with the signing of a 92,306-square-foot office lease at a newly renovated Class A tower in Midtown South.

The company signed a long-term lease for two full floors at 28 E. 28th St.—also known as 63 Madison Avenue and the New York Life Building—a 16-story office property owned by George Comfort & Sons and its partners, Jamestown and Loeb Partners Realty. Following a full buildout, Freshly’s new offices will span the entirety of floors 12 and 13 and will include private access to two outdoor terraces on the 13th floor, according to the owners.

Freshly, which was acquired by Nestle USA last fall, is relocating from its previous 20,000-square-foot space at 115 E. 23rd St.

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Freshly was represented in the deal by Eric Ferriello of Colliers International while the owner was represented in-house by Peter Duncan, Matt Coudert and Alex Bermingham of George Comfort & Sons.

Located one block north of Madison Square Park, the property was originally built in 1962 and underwent cosmetic renovations in 1982. The ownership team recently upgraded the building with a new lobby, a new retail space at the base of the building that will be anchored by a 60,000-square-foot Whole Foods Market, and a private terrace on the penthouse floor of the property.

Other tenants at the property include CBS, which renewed its 162,291-square-foot lease in April 2019 for another 15 years, according to CommercialEdge. The renewal came shortly after Facebook reportedly passed on taking space at the building, when the tech giant was still searching for new Manhattan digs. The company eventually signed a massive lease last August at Vornado Realty Trust’s Farley Building redevelopment project in Midtown.

George Comfort & Sons purchased the building from New York Life Real Estate Investors in 1995 for $65.2 million. In December 2020, the building’s ownership secured $410 million in loans from Wells Fargo to refinance the property.