Sublandlord Boots Kent Swig from Midtown Office

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Real estate developer Kent Swig needs to find an office for his firm after being kicked to the curb by its Midtown sublandlord.

At the start of the month, a city marshal evicted Swig and his firm, Helmsley Spear, from its space at 747 Third Avenue, Page Six reported. The property is owned by the Kaufman family’s Sage Realty, though the dispute centered on a sublease; the sublandlord appears to be ITN Holdings, based on previous reporting from the Commercial Observer.

Swig allegedly owes more than $450,000 in back rent on its sublease, which began in 2024. He was allegedly notified of the looming eviction a day beforehand, but failed to warn dozens of employees that they were about to be booted from the premises. Swig denied the accusation that employees were left in the dark.

“We were engaged in good-faith negotiations with the sublandlord to resolve this matter. However, the sublandlord never responded to my final proposal, abruptly ended discussions, and proceeded with moving forward to move us out of our space,” a spokesperson for Helmsley Spear told Page Six.

A spokesperson for Swig did not immediately have further comment to provide to The Real Deal. The firm is reportedly looking for a new office space for its employees.

TRD also reached out to ITN for comment.

This isn’t Swig’s first rent dispute. Prior to moving to 747 Third Avenue, Lincoln International sued Swig for more than $342 million in missed payments at 444 Madison Avenue.

Last month, TRD reported that Swig was advising the North Fork’s Greenport Business Improvement District on an economic development plan to address underutilized commercial real estate in the village. The strategy focuses on mitigating issues like seasonality and parking shortages through methods like lowering rents in the off-season and persuading Monday-to-Friday businesses to relinquish private lots on weekends.

Swig, who owns a property in Water Mill on the South Fork, spent much of his career in the Manhattan development world and serves as co-chairman of Terra Holdings and Swig Equities. He is an owner at the family-owned Swig Company.

Over 25 years, Swig developed 4 million square feet of commercial office space and more than 1.5 million square feet of Manhattan residential, according to the website of his Swig Equities.

He’s had a series of well-documented ups and downs, including a buying spree just before the 2008 financial crisis that ended in him losing key properties to lenders. Swig bought Helmsley Spear in 2007.

Outside the firm, Swig is on the board of directors of the Downtown Alliance and also started the neighborhood group that later became the Times Square BID.

— Holden Walter-Warner