Fintech
Fintech company takes 41k SF in Empire State Building
The Pontera fintech company has signed a long-term lease at the Empire State Building,
Pontera leased 41,000 square feet per iconic tower. The asking rent was $79 per square foot.
The company is moving from its current 11,000-square-foot space to 111 West 33rd Street, another Empire State Realty Trust building. The move was first reported by New York Post.
The new lease continues an upward trajectory for the building. Office space at the 2.7 million-square-foot, 102-story New York City landmark was 93% leased as of March 31.
LinkedIn added 25,000 square feet to the building last year, bringing its total property size to 526,000 square feet. Starbucks it also leased 26,000 square feet for its offices last month; the company moved from 370 Seventh Avenue.
Justin Haber and Kyle Riker of JLL represented Pontera in the final lease signing. ESRT’s Shanae Ursini and a Newmark team that included Scott Klau and Erik Harris represented the host.
There have been questions about how the Empire State Building might compete with new, higher-quality properties as leasing trends shake out in a post-pandemic, hybrid-work world.
The ESRT conducted a $550 million overhaul of the property’s infrastructure in 2006, but concerns about the building’s future have emerged in recent years, including an office-to-residential conversion.