Global law firm Linklaters is bulking up in Midtown.
The London-based firm is adding 48,000 square feet at Vornado Realty Trust’s 1290 Sixth Avenue, The Real Deal has learned. Linklaters signed a 10-year lease for a portion of the building’s 11th floor, bringing its total footprint at the tower to more than 150,000 square feet. The new lease is coterminous with the firm’s existing deal at the property. The asking rent was $100 per square foot.
JLL’s Lisa Kiell represented Linklaters in the transaction, while Vornado was represented in-house by Edward Riguardi and Ryan Levy.
Linklaters, which has offices across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, is the latest tenant to bet on Midtown’s flight-to-quality trend, which has helped drive leasing momentum to a six-year high. The firm has been expanding in New York and Washington, D.C. In October, it added 6,500 square feet on the 34th floor of 1290 Sixth.
The expansion comes after Vornado completed a major renovation at the 43-story Sixth Avenue tower, which was built in 1963. Upgrades include a revamped lobby, a new curtain wall and the addition of wellness-focused amenities aimed at keeping the building competitive with newer office developments.
Investment firm Neuberger Berman remains the building’s anchor tenant, occupying roughly 400,000 square feet under a lease signed in 2015.
The ownership structure of 1290 Sixth Avenue is also notable. The Trump Organization owns a 30 percent stake in the property through a partnership agreement that restricts a sale until 2044. The building is among the assets in President Donald Trump’s portfolio that could be affected by a New York judge’s ruling tied to allegations that Trump inflated his company’s property values for financial gain.
Linklaters’ deal marks the latest lease signed at the building this year, following Oaktree Capital Management’s 79,000-square-foot deal in January for the entire 12th floor.
Vornado and Linklaters declined to comment.
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