Lower Manhattan is becoming a popular choice for businesses seeking to relocate. Downtown’s commercial property market recently saw a major deal finalized, as BNY Mellon signed a lease for 350,000 square feet of space at 225 Liberty Street, on the site of the former World Financial Center. BNY Mellon is relocating to the site from its old headquarters at One Wall Street.
The 44-storey building is one of five office buildings known as Brookfield Place, a development of Brookfield Properties Inc. Ninety percent of 225 Liberty Street is now leased to tenants. Brookfield is undertaking a renovation of the public and retail portions of the building at a cost of $250 million. Time, Inc. also recently relocated to the Brookfield complex, renting 700,000 square feet in one of the buildings.
Commercial leases in Manhattan can be very complex, often running to hundreds of pages. It is critically important for a tenant to think in terms of what might happen down the road and have a professional review all the terms carefully. Doing so can help a tenant avoid expensive lease disputes in the future.
Knowing who is responsible for specific types of expenses or repairs is critical. A tenant should understand how Common Area Maintenance charges are calculated and billed. If the landlord is offering a low rent for an initial period, it is important to check what additional charges may be added after the initial period ends. Negotiating the terms of a commercial real estate lease requires a legal advisor with a sophisticated understanding of what terms to negotiate.
Source: cpexecutive.com, “BNY Mellon Takes 350 KSF at Brookfield’s Downtown NYC Complex,” Barbra Murray, June 30, 2014