Law Firm Nutter Expands to 11K SF at Durst’s 5 Grand Central East – Commercial Observer
Law firm Nutter is taking more office space at one of the Durst Organization’s buildings near Grand Central Terminal, Commercial Observer has learned.
Nutter, which is based in Boston and provides personal and business legal services, has signed a deal to renew its existing 5,719 square feet on the 27th floor of Durst’s 5 Grand Central East — also known as 655 Third Avenue — and add another 5,719 square feet on the entire 25th floor, according to the landlord. The deal brings the law firm’s total footprint at the 30-story office tower to 11,438 square feet.
“The Manhattan office leasing market is surging, especially for Class A spaces in transit-accessible locations such as Grand Central East,” Jody Durst, president of Durst, said in a statement. “Nutter’s decision to expand at 5 Grand Central East reflects the desirability of the area and Durst’s long-term investment in our buildings.”
The length of the lease was not provided, but the asking rent was $80 per square foot, according to Durst.
CBRE’s Michael Joyce and Trevor Larkin brokered the deal for Nutter, while Durst was repped in-house by Tom Bow, Ashlea Aaron, Bailey Caliban and Sayo Kamara. A spokesperson for CBRE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Nutter, which was founded in 1879, has been a tenant in Durst’s office building between East 41st and East 42nd streets since 2022. Michael Scott, co-managing partner of Nutter, said in a statement that 5 Grand Central East is “the right location for our clients and our team as we grow.”
In December, Durst rebranded two of its office buildings near Grand Central, turning 655 Third Avenue to 5 Grand Central East and renaming 733 Third Avenue as 11 Grand Central East. The rebranding reflected its “continued investment in the Grand Central submarket,” the firm said.
The Grand Central East submarket is defined as East 38th to East 47th streets from Park Avenue to Second Avenue. Demand for office space in the submarket has increased 127 percent since 2021, driven primarily by tenants in the finance, insurance and real estate industries (also known as FIRE), according to data from commercial real estate software firm VTS.
Plus, those tenants are looking for more office space than they used to. In 2021, tenants looking in the Grand Central East market were seeking 3.3 million square feet of office space. Last year, they were seeking 6.6 million square feet, VTS found.
As part of Durst’s investment into the submarket, the company is deploying $16 million in capital investments at 5 Grand Central East, including new HVAC systems and a new building management system.
Other tenants at 5 Grand Central East include general contractor Clune Construction, recruitment firm Abacus Group, and the New York City headquarters of the state agency Empire State Development.
Isabelle Durso can be reached at idurso@commercialobserver.com.
