Bain & Co., a giant in the world of management consulting, has inked a massive new office lease at 22 Vanderbilt Ave., one of the few Manhattan buildings that offers direct access to Grand Central Terminal.
The company is taking about 235,000 square feet at the Midtown office tower, landlord Milstein Properties announced Monday. It will move to the building in 2026 and occupy four floors to start, effectively doubling its office footprint.
Bain is moving to 22 Vanderbilt Ave. from Brookfield Properties' Grace Building at 1114 Sixth Ave., by Bryant Park. Advertising firm Trade Desk is taking over Bain's space there, expanding its own footprint by 126,000 square feet, according to Brookfield.
The Bain lease, along with four other new leases from law firms and financial firms totaling about 225,000 square feet, brings 22 Vanderbilt Ave. to 91% leased, according to Milstein.
The family-run real estate firm recently finished a major redevelopment of 22 Vanderbilt that added more than 275,000 square feet of amenities to the property. These include a redesigned lobby, a fitness center and a landscaped outdoor deck overlooking Grand Central. The property includes a specialty coffee shop, a cocktail lounge and a 3-story dining hall as well.
The property is also known as 335 Madison Ave. and suffered a big blow about 10 years ago, when Bank of America left its roughly 230,000-square-foot space in the building. The office tower dates back to 1984, and it spans about 1.1 million square feet and stands 29 stories tall, according to commercial real estate database CoStar. Asking rents range from $105 to $120 per square foot, according to Brookfield, which assists with leasing at the property.
Manhattan's office market is still struggling to bounce back from Covid, but leasing activity was fairly strong in April, according to Colliers. Companies leased about 2.7 million square feet of space overall, including about 1.1 million square feet in Midtown.
Permira is acquiring website-builder Squarespace for about $6.6 billion in cash in the second-largest take-private deal of the year.
The London-based private equity firm agreed to pay $44 per share in cash for Squarespace, a premium of more than 15% over its closing share price on Friday, according to a statement Monday. The deal is worth $6.9 billion, including debt.
The deal caps a brief stint on the public markets for Squarespace, which went public via a direct listing at $50 per share in 2021. The company, which had been privately valued at about $10 billion at one point, had fallen about 24% from its debut through Friday’s close.
The stock rose 13% to $43.26 at 11:11 a.m. in New York trading Monday, giving it a market value of about $6 billion.
The transaction also comes as private equity is increasingly willing to put money to work — particularly in the technology sector — after a lull in activity in 2023. The transaction is the second-biggest leveraged buyout of the year, behind Silver Lake’s $13 billion pact in April for entertainment conglomerate Endeavor Group Holdings, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Squarespace Chief Executive Anthony Casalena will continue to lead the business and roll over a “substantial majority” of his equity, according to the statement.
“Squarespace has been at the forefront of providing services to businesses looking to establish themselves online for more than two decades. We are excited to continue building on that foundation, and expanding our offerings, for years to come,” Casalena said in a statement.
He added that he was excited to partner with Permira as well as “existing long-term investors” General Atlantic and Accel.
Permira, which is active in the technology sector, raised $17.7 billion last year for its latest flagship buyout fund.
JPMorgan Chase is advising Squarespace, while Centerview Partners worked with the board’s special board committee. Goldman Sachs Group is advising Permira.
Blackstone Credit & Insurance, Blue Owl Capital, and Ares Capital are arranging debt financing.
Permira is acquiring website-builder Squarespace for about $6.6 billion in cash in the second-largest take-private deal of the year.
The London-based private equity firm agreed to pay $44 per share in cash for Squarespace, a premium of more than 15% over its closing share price on Friday, according to a statement Monday. The deal is worth $6.9 billion, including debt.
The deal caps a brief stint on the public markets for Squarespace, which went public via a direct listing at $50 per share in 2021. The company, which had been privately valued at about $10 billion at one point, had fallen about 24% from its debut through Friday’s close.
The stock rose 13% to $43.26 at 11:11 a.m. in New York trading Monday, giving it a market value of about $6 billion.
The transaction also comes as private equity is increasingly willing to put money to work — particularly in the technology sector — after a lull in activity in 2023. The transaction is the second-biggest leveraged buyout of the year, behind Silver Lake’s $13 billion pact in April for entertainment conglomerate Endeavor Group Holdings, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Squarespace Chief Executive Anthony Casalena will continue to lead the business and roll over a “substantial majority” of his equity, according to the statement.
“Squarespace has been at the forefront of providing services to businesses looking to establish themselves online for more than two decades. We are excited to continue building on that foundation, and expanding our offerings, for years to come,” Casalena said in a statement.
He added that he was excited to partner with Permira as well as “existing long-term investors” General Atlantic and Accel.
Permira, which is active in the technology sector, raised $17.7 billion last year for its latest flagship buyout fund.
JPMorgan Chase is advising Squarespace, while Centerview Partners worked with the board’s special board committee. Goldman Sachs Group is advising Permira.
Blackstone Credit & Insurance, Blue Owl Capital, and Ares Capital are arranging debt financing.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has released a limited-edition MetroCard featuring rapper, and Bronx-native, Ice Spice to celebrate her debut album “Y2K.” In collaboration with Capital Records, the MTA has loaded MetroCard machines at four select stations in the Bronx and Manhattan with 50,000 limited edition cards featuring the “Munch” artist. Starting Monday, the MetroCards [...]
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Open the door to an apartment at 2 Charlton Street, and the space will look like any of the 3.6 million units in New York.
That is, with one notable exception: The windows are likely to be closed in the winter, a rarity in older buildings where the heat is often blasting from radiators. And yet the unit will be a Goldilocks temperature, just right.
The secret to 2 Charlton’s comfort is an easy-to-miss white box tucked into the corner, what Brooklyn Navy Yard-based technology startup Kelvin calls “the Cozy.” It’s a smart radiator that can cut greenhouse gas emissions and costs — and most importantly to residents, improve comfort. In a world where old buildings pose a stubborn decarbonization challenge, Kelvin is aiming to make it easier to cut emissions now and build a bridge to electrified heating and cooling.
Radiators work by pumping steam through pipes. Around 80% of buildings in New York rely on steam heating, which replaced stoves and fireplaces in the early 20th century, according to the nonprofit Urban Green Council. While that helped cut harmful air pollution then, it’s an inefficient form of heating today.
The traditional New Yorker solution to a too-hot radiator is letting the outside chill in in hopes of equalizing the temperature. While opening a window may relieve sauna-like conditions, it means the gas boilers powering radiators are working overtime, ramping up emissions and expenses. Inefficient operations contribute to building emissions, which are more than two-thirds of the city’s carbon footprint. And they lead to around $2 billion wasted on gas annually in New York, according to Kelvin.
“The New York story is you live in a tiny, overheated apartment,” said Marshall Cox, Kelvin’s chief executive and founder. He developed the Cozy as a solution to make steam heating in older buildings more efficient.
Cox experienced the discomfort firsthand when he was an engineering student at Columbia. That led him to build the first Cozy for his “horrible” apartment and launch Kelvin — formerly known as Radiator Labs — in 2013.
The Cozy fits over a radiator and traps steam heat behind the cover. It then uses sensors to release heat based on the temperature of the room as well as the radiator. When the room needs heat, the fan within the Cozy circulates hot air through the room. The trapped steam can also be sent to other parts of the building that may need heat. (While an individual apartment can install a Cozy, the startup currently only does complete building retrofits to maximize efficiency.) Kelvin was named a BloombergNEF Pioneer this year for its innovative approach to building decarbonization.
It takes Kelvin between one and six months to complete a project, including manufacturing, shipping and installation, and the company has put the Cozy system in residential buildings as well as schools, theaters and dorms. The radiator cover, which residents can use to set their apartment’s temperature, also collects data that can help determine when a building’s boiler should be operating. Kelvin has sold 30,000 Cozys, half of which have been installed. The introduction of utility and tax rebates as well as greenhouse gas regulations over the past several years have sent sales “through the roof,” Cox said.
The Cozy saves an average of more than 25% on heating costs in buildings utilizing steam radiators, according to Kelvin. And it also can provide residents with much-needed comfort. Chris McGinnis, a now-retired former systems engineer at IBM and co-op board member of 2 Charlton Street, brought the Cozy to his building in 2021, after piloting it. He has lived in the building since 1990 and first lived on the building's second floor. That apartment was so hot that he would have to turn on the air conditioning in the winter.
It was “just so stupid,” recalled McGinnis, who found out about Kelvin in 2013. “You have this gigantic building and everyone has their windows open because they’re smoking hot.”
He didn’t have trouble convincing his co-op board to try out the innovation. “When they realized this could cost very little, save money and make them more comfortable, it wasn't a big push,” McGinnis said.
The building has earned back what it spent on its Cozys, having saved $37,662 in fuel costs and 168.2 tons of carbon emissions. More than 60% of the 175 units in 2 Charlton now have Kelvin’s system. While the vast majority of the Cozy installations have been successful, a couple of McGinnis’ neighbors got rid of theirs because of concerns about the product’s digital connectedness and incorrect use of the technology.
“It's New York City, life isn't exactly perfect, but this is a major step in the right direction,” McGinnis said on the Cozy.
Most of the “pushback” Kelvin has gotten is related to financials, Cox said, adding that “people don’t want to spend money unless they absolutely have to.” Replacing radiator heating systems with a fully electric system can be even more costly, though, which is why Cox still sees a wide lane for Kelvin.
“I do not view full electrification as competition at all,” he said, sharing his doubt about its prospects. “It's so expensive, it will never happen.”
Cozys can either be paid for all at once or using Kelvin’s no-money-down payment plan. If paid for when purchased, the Cozy costs $850 per apartment, including installation. The no-money-down option allows apartments to pay off the purchase in $10 to $20 monthly installments over the course of 10 to 15 years.
Further lowering costs, the cover qualifies for incentives in the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act. Federal and state incentives cover between 50% and 70% of the Cozy’s cost, making the price tag of each radiator cover around $200.
With Kelvin’s system, 2 Charlton is compliant with Local Law 97, a piece of legislation passed to limit greenhouse gas emissions from larger buildings with a goal of cutting them 40% by 2030.
“All of a sudden, it's made every single landlord in New York City invested in reducing emissions in their buildings,” Rewiring America’s Director of Research Cora Wyent said of the legislation.
Policies like Local Law 97 may also lead to the creation of more startups like Kelvin offering building decarbonization options, according to Wyent. While radiator covers can cut emissions in the near term, cutting them further will require ending the use of fossil fuels for heating.
Heat pumps can do that, decarbonizing both heating and cooling. Some startups and incumbent HVAC companies, notably Gradient and Midea, have pioneered window heat pumps that can be installed in apartments.
Kelvin is in the modeling and prototyping stage of what it calls a hybrid electrification system, which pairs heat pumps and thermal batteries with its radiator enclosures. The company expects the system to be commercially ready by 2025. The startup expects its upcoming system to cost less than a fully electrified heating and cooling system, which can run from $11,400 per unit and up in New York, according to an Urban Green Council estimate. Through its approach, Kelvin can electrify 80% of a building for 10% of the cost, according to the company.
Mayor Eric Adams has a new challenger in the Democratic primary next year.
Zellnor Myrie, who represents a version of Adams’ old state Senate seat, announced he was opening an exploratory committee to run. Myrie put up a launch video with the announcement; barring unforeseen circumstances, he is going to be an official candidate before the year is out.
What does this mean? Can a 37-year-old state senator from Brooklyn get elected the next mayor? He’s a long shot. Adams is sitting on more than $2 million and should have the backing of several large labor unions. He’s an incumbent, and mayoral incumbents rarely lose.
But Myrie can help deny Adams a second term, even if he doesn’t win. Scott Stringer, the former city comptroller and a 2021 candidate, is likely to run as well. Together, it’s plausible they rack up enough votes to block Adams from winning the June 2025 primary.
It’s important to remember primaries and special elections in New York City are now run with ranked-choice voting. In the primary next year, just as they were able to in 2021, Democratic voters can choose up to five candidates on their ballot. Second-place votes matter greatly. RCV is a good system because it rewards candidates who can build broader, deeper coalitions. Adams can’t rely on a narrow plurality to get himself the nomination.
Myrie has several strengths. He represents a vote-rich district in central Brooklyn. He is Afro-Latino and can potentially gobble up middle class and professional class Black voters who are souring on Adams. Progressives in western Queens, northern Brooklyn and the brownstone belt could be attracted to his candidacy, since he has a reputation as a reformer in Albany; he's a politician who fought to expand childcare and fix election laws.
Myrie is part of the state Senate’s progressive bloc, but his pitch, like Stringer’s, is more grounded in municipal management and battling back against certain unpopular budget cuts, like Adams’ attempt to trim spending for libraries. Myrie's hope, as a candidate, will be to forge a coalition of center-left Democrats in Manhattan and Brooklyn while pitching himself to moderates as someone who can successfully oversee the city agencies Adams has stuffed with patronage hires or let wither altogether.
Myrie’s challenge will be building name recognition and raising money. Even with public matching funds, he’ll need to raise around $1 million on his own if he wants to get on television and scale up a five-borough campaign. This is far easier said than done. Stringer, who’s run citywide before, has an advantage on this score.
Ranked-choice voting incentivizes alliance-building, and it’s not hard to imagine a Stringer-Myrie coalition that wins many more votes than Adams in Manhattan and sections of Brooklyn and Queens. Adams has a large working-class base, but it’s shrunk since 2021. He is, by polling, the most unpopular mayor in decades, and it’s possible a federal investigation into his fundraising results in him — or close aides — getting indicted.
If so, the field might expand further. Indictments could lure Andrew Cuomo, the disgraced former governor, into the race, and he would be formidable, even with the large number of voters who view him negatively. Either way, Adams is already the most endangered incumbent since David Dinkins, who lost his re-election in 1993 to Rudy Giuliani.
The most apt historical comparison, though, might be Abe Beame, who had to govern through the fiscal crisis and saw his popularity plummet by 1977, when he was up for re-election. Democrats piled on Beame like Democrats are beginning to pounce on Adams, and Beame lost the primary.
Adams does have a path to victory, but he needs to figure out how to win back the voters he’s lost while proposing new policy initiatives that can drum up fresh excitement and interest. Adams needs a compelling argument for a second term. Absent one, he’s veering toward becoming a one-term mayor.
Ross Barkan is a journalist and author in New York City.
Central Park has a solution to a very New York problem. As first reported by NY1, the Central Park Conservancy introduced a clever recycling bin designed specifically to fit pizza boxes to address the pileup from picnics and parties. Located in the busy East Pinetum section of the park, near the Metropolitan Museum of Art, [...]
The post Central Park installs new pizza box recycling bins first appeared on 6sqft.
Israeli artist Ilana Goor and her husband, Leonard Lowengrub, have put their Upper East Side townhouse at 178 East 75th Street on the market, as Curbed reported. Even among the neighborhood’s opulent and expensive townhouses with celebrity histories and Gilded Age glamour, this six-story brick property is poised to grab attention–and not just for its [...]
The post An international artist couple asks $37.75M for their art-filled UES townhouse–Rolls Royce included first appeared on 6sqft.