Aberdeen Extends 27,000 SF lease at 712 Fifth Ave.
Although the asking rent was not provided, a CoStar analyst indicated with confidence that it would be well over $100 per square foot.
NEW YORK CITY—Aberdeeen Standard Investments is reconfiguring and extending its lease at Paramount Group’s 650-foot-tall office skyscraper at 712 Fifth Ave. The building stands between W. 55th and W. 56th streets in the famed Plaza District. Although the asking rents in the building were not disclosed, a CoStar Group analyst tells GlobeSt.com with confidence they would be well over $100 per square foot.
The building gained attention earlier this year because it housed Henri Bendel’s flagship Fifth Avenue location. That store closed when the retailer shut down all its stores and its website in January 2019.
ASI, the investment arm of Standard Life Aberdeen, reportedly manages $735.5 billion in assets as of June 30, 2018. ASI resulted from the 2017 merger of Standard Life and Aberdeen Asset Management.
Aberdeen Asset Management moved to 712 Fifth Ave. in 2012, leasing 9,124 square feet on the 49th floor. By 2016, the firm had expanded onto the 50th and 51st floors, totaling 27,372 square feet. Following the merger, ASI needed to reconfigure its offices to accommodate its larger size.
Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates and built in 1991, the 52-story office tower at 712 Fifth Ave. is 543,341 square feet according to Real Capital Analytics.
Savills’ Daniel Horowitz, Jeffrey Peck, Greg Soffian, Roi Shleifer and Jacob Stern represented and advised ASI on their latest real estate negotiations. Paramount was represented in-house by Peter Brindley, Doug Neye and Sean Kirk.
With five years left on its lease, ASI wanted to remain in the same building and location. But the company’s workplace was no longer compatible with its business operations, according to Horowitz.
“By negotiating a comprehensive lease extension, ASI is able to remodel and upgrade its office,” says Horowitz. He adds the renovations will boost the company’s efficiency at a critical point in its growth. Peck points out that the decision to remain and reconfigure avoided the disruption and expense of a relocation.