Tech Firm More Than Doubles West Village Space

NEW YORK CITY-After having been displaced from its offices at One World Trade Center following the Sept. 11 attacks, Lava Trading, a financial services technology company, has officially found its new home, 95 Morton St. While still in Lower Manhattan, the firm’s new location, totaling 40,000 sf, is set here in the West Village–a former center of the city’s bustling tech boom a few years back.

Lava inked an 11-year deal for 23,500 sf on the fourth floor of 95 Morton St., located between Greenwich and Washington streets, building on the 16,500 sf it already occupies on the seventh floor.

A converted and renovated warehouse, 95 Morton St. offers tenants large floor plans and high ceilings. “Lava chose to grow within a former hot spot for fast growth firms,” says David Dusek, associate director of C&W, who along with C&W director Alex Chudnoff represented Lava in its expansion. C&W’s senior director Mark Mandell and EVP Mitchell Konsker represented the building landlord, Capital Real Estate. A Cushman representative declined to reveal details of the transaction but said the deal came in at close to market rates. As of the third quarter, direct office leases in the West Village averaged $33.10 per sf.

Prior to the firm’s forced relocation in 2001, it had leased 7,500 sf on the 83rd floor of 1 WTC. In the past two years, the company’s space requirements have grown fivefold.