London Stock Exchange Consolidates Operations at 28 Liberty St.
The exchange is leasing 75,000 square feet at Fosun’s FiDi office tower.
NEW YORK CITY—The London Stock Exchange is relocating from multiple offices to 75,000 square feet at 28 Liberty St. The exchange signed a lease with Fosun Hive Holdings to occupy the entire 57th and 58th floors of the 2.2 million square-foot office tower, formerly known as One Chase Manhattan Plaza. A person with knowledge of the deal tells GlobeSt.com that the asking rent was $75 per square foot, for a 12-year period, and the move will occur in two phases in 2019.
Fosun Hive Holdings handles the property investment management for Fosun International Limited. The Chinese international conglomerate and investment company is headquartered in Shanghai and listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange.
“28 Liberty is a world class office tower standing at the center of a thriving live-work-play neighborhood,” says Bo Wei, chief executive representative of Fosun International in the US and VP of Fosun Hive.
Fosun’s managing director Thomas Costanzo, and associate Isabella Chen, and JLL’s Peter Riguardi, chairman and president of the tri-state region; Mitch Konsker, vice chairman; John Wheeler, Michael Berman and Daniel Turkewitz, managing directors; and Eliza Akers, associate, represented Fosun. CBRE’s Robert Stillman, vice chairman; Harly Stevens, SVP, and Ariel Ball, VP, represented the stock exchange.
“Lower Manhattan was an ideal location for the London Stock Exchange, placing one of the oldest stock exchanges in the world within the heart of the Financial District,” says Riguardi. He adds that Fosun’s $180 million capital improvements program helped close the deal.
Fosun’s renovations to the 60-story tower will include constructing a glass façade for 200,000 square feet of new, street-level retail. The property owner also participates in community activities including public film screenings, the River to River Festival and restaurant events.
In addition to the London Stock Exchange, other building tenants include Wolters Kluwer, Allianz, Assurant, Booking.com and the office of New York State Attorney General. The NYAG had recently moved from 120 Broadway, where it occupied approximately 389,000 square feet under a lease that expired in 2018. Silverstein Properties is repositioning that building with major renovations in progress.
The Skidmore, Owings & Merrill architect Gordon Bunshaft designed the skyscraper at 28 Liberty St., which was originally constructed in 1961 as the headquarters of Chase Manhattan Bank. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the building a landmark in 2009. Fosun acquired the property from JP Morgan in December 2013 for $725 million according to Real Capital Analytics.