The Gray Lady is moving employees out of its namesake Times Square Tower to Long Island City.
The New York Times has leased 57,846 square feet on the ninth through 11th floors of Court Square Place, bringing the 275,252-square-foot building to 100% occupancy.
Located at 24-01 44th Road, the curved building steps back at the 11th floor, which at 15,380 square feet is slightly smaller than the ninth and 10th floors of 21,233 square feet each. That setback can be turned into a 270-foot long terrace — one of the largest in the city — with magnificent Manhattan views. The building also has a huge modern cafeteria on the lobby level and conference, gym and training space on the 16th floor. The top 17th floor is a private gym for the United Nations Federal Credit Union (UNFCU).
The space was occupied by the United Nations during the renovations of its main campus. Those floors are being completely rebuilt with a Gensler design.
Robert Mitchell of Byrnam Wood represented The New York Times Co. in the 15-year lease that had an asking rent of $50 per foot.
When it moves this fall, The Times could enjoy tax credits through the REAP program for each of the 350 employees it plans to relocate from Manhattan.
The Times occupies roughly 475,000 square feet in the base of 620 Eighth Ave. and subleases to others.
The Court Square Place building owner, UNFCU, has its own offices in the base and was represented by Greg Smith and Lauren Calandriello of JRT Realty Group. Led by Jodi Pulice, JRT is the largest certified woman-owned commercial real estate services firm in the US.
In June, a current tenant, Collins Building Services, renewed its leased on the 15th floor and expanded into the 12th floor, for a total of 30,760 square feet. The previous 12th floor occupant, Nespresso, consolidated into 41,800 square feet at 111 W. 33rd St. in Manhattan.
“A lot of tenants were vying for the space,” said Smith. “We are seeing an uptick in activity after the Amazon debacle because Long Island City [had more] exposure.”
