Premium Office Spaces Drove Manhattan Leases Last Year

A new JLL report shows that Manhattan’s office market saw triple-digit leases during 2021. 

According to the findings, tenants signed six leases with rents starting at $200 per square feet or more last year, which has only been seen a few times in New York history. 

Although the 3.4 million square feet leased at over $100 per square feet was below the all-time high mark, it is still a 60% increase from 2020’s levels. 

Deals that were over $100 per square feet accounted for 19% of office leases in Manhattan last year. 

Cynthia Wasserberger, vice chairman of JLL, said that this increased number of leases for premium space indicates that there is growing confidence in New York’s office market. 

“A lot of tenants did deals that put a priority on unique spaces that offer something interesting or different, and those come with higher price tags,” said Wasserberger. “A lot of that is trying to draw people back to the office post-Covid and thinking they need to do something more signature and more interesting.” 

Amenities such as vast views, natural light, outdoor spaces, and high-end amenities have driven rent prices up. 

“Investments in these buildings, the creative conversion of space to outdoor space, amenitization, all of that has paid off,” said Wasserberger. “Tenants are reacting positively to those offerings.”