BNY Mellon Opts to Stay Downtown

NEW YORK CITY—Living up to its pre-merger name, the Bank of New York, BNY Mellon will remain headquartered in Lower Manhattan. Brookfield Office Properties Inc. said Thursday it had signed a 20-year lease with the investment bank for approximately 350,000 square feet at 225 Liberty St. within the Brookfield Place complex.

GlobeSt.com reported in April that BNY Mellon would sell its headquarters building at One Wall St., formerly the Irving Trust Co. building, where it had been headquartered since 1998. The bank was considering a move from Lower Manhattan, where it has been based since being founded by Alexander Hamilton in 1784, to Jersey City, where it already has space.

In May, the bank said it had reached an agreement to sell the 52-story Art Deco tower for $585 million to a joint venture led by Macklowe Properties. The sale is expected to close in the third quarter. Along with the space on seven floors at 225 Liberty, BNY Mellon will also consolidate operations at 101 Barclay St. elsewhere in Lower Manhattan.

“BNY Mellon is a highly valued institution with a 200-year history in New York and we are pleased to add them to the list of prestigious tenants at Brookfield Place,” says Dennis Friedrich, CEO of Brookfield Office. “This lease, combined with additional leases in advanced and progressing negotiations, will bring the occupancy level of the complex to nearly 90%, with positive momentum behind it.”

Kathryn Wylde, president and CEO of the Partnership for New York City, credits the bank's “historic commitment to the city” as well as the Cuomo administration's pro-business initiatives and “the exceptional real estate opportunity offered by Brookfield Properties” with keeping BNY Mellon Downtown. “This demonstrates that the value proposition in New York City as the center of the global financial industry remains strong, despite growing competition from other localities.”

BNY Mellon was represented in lease negotiations by a JLL team of Peter Riguardi, president of New York operations; managing director Michael Shenot; and SVP Michael Berg. Brookfield was represented in-house by SVP Jerry Larkin, VP David Cheikin and associate Alex Liscio.

The Brookfield announcement follows yesterday's news about an office compelx that is competing with Berookfield Place for tenants. Commissioners at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey voted to approve a funding arrangement that will enable Silverstein Properties Inc. to resume construction of 3 World Trade Center.