Empire State Development, New York State's economic development and financing agency, has inked a deal with Durst to lease five full floors at 655 Third Avenue for ESD's NYC headquarters.
The 117K SF lease is one of the largest deals in Midtown this year, in a building located just a block from Grand Central Terminal on Midtown East's coveted Third Avenue corridor.
Empire State Development's offices will occupy all of floors 2 through 6, taking more than a quarter of the 30-story, 425K SF property.
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Originally built in 1958 and designed by Emery Roth & Sons, 655 earned LEED Gold certification in 2019 with sustainability features including 4,775 square feet of green roofs and double-glazed windows that deflect glare and improve office comfort.
The Durst Organization was represented in house by Tom Bow, Ashlea Aaron, and Bailey Caliban. Moshe Sukenik and Brian Cohen of Newmark and Joan Brothers of Manhattan Boutique Real Estate represented Empire State Development.
655 is one of five Durst properties seeing strong leasing activity along Third Avenue. Earlier this year, the building renewed the Big East Conference.
Further north, 825 Third Avenue has seen a pre-leasing boom with six leases signed totaling 125K SF as the building's $150M transformation nears completion. Local favorite Rosemary's will open a new Italian restaurant on the ground floor of 825 Third Avenue later this year with indoor and outdoor seating, and the street will be activated with a renovated public plaza.
205 East 42nd Street, just up the block from 655 Third Avenue, is becoming a new hub for non-profits in Midtown with 65K SF leased so far this year, the company said.
ESD has established several programs to help the entertainment industry recovery and to support tourism in New York City.
The New York City Musical and Theatrical Production Tax Credit was implemented to provide economic incentives to theatrical production in NYC and to offset some of the additional costs associated with producing a show as New York's economy continues to recover.
Companies producing a qualified musical and theatrical production in a Level 1 qualified New York City production facility can receive tax credits of 25% of qualified production expenditures up to $3M per production.
A Level 1 qualified New York City production facility is a facility in Manhattan in the area bounded by and including 41st Street, 54th Street, 6th Avenue and 9th Avenue; in which live theatrical productions are intended primarily to be presented; containing 500 seats or more along with at least one stage and additional necessary amenities for theatrical productions; and for which live theatrical productions constitute 75% or more of gross receipts for the facility.
Companies producing a qualified musical and theatrical production in a Level 2 qualified New York city production facility can receive tax credits of 25 % of qualified production expenditures up to $350K, provided that the qualified musical and theatrical production have a production budget of at least $750K and incur at least $750K in qualified production expenditures.
A Level 2 is a facility in Manhattan in which live theatrical productions are intended to be primarily presented; containing 100 seats or more along with at least one stage and additional necessary amenities for theatrical productions; and for which live theatrical productions constitute 75 % or more of gross receipts for the facility.
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