Columbia Property Trust Lands Lease Expansion in Manhattan
Harvey, a San Francisco-based generative artificial intelligence firm, has inked a lease at 315 Park Ave. S. in Manhattan that doubles the size of its space to 34,100 square feet on two floors. Previously, the startup had committed to 17,050 square feet on one floor.
Harvey, which specializes in AI for law firms and other professional service providers, initially leased the fifth floor of the building only this year. Now the firm has taken the seventh floor as well.
The building owner, Columbia Property Trust, has undertaken a series of tech and operational upgrades to the vintage 1910 structure, earning it Energy Star, Fitwel, LEED Gold, and WiredScore Platinum certifications. 315 Park Ave. S. also received the Building Owners & Managers Association of New York’s 2022 Pinnacle Award for Operating Building of the Year.
From its Midtown location, the building provides transit access and walkability to Madison Square Park, Gramercy Park and various food options, hotels and shopping.
Other tenants at the 332,000-square-foot building include a range of tech and finance firms, including PitchBook and Twitch. The building’s retail spaces are currently occupied by Just Salad, fitness chain Equinox and the robot-using vegan food purveyor Kernel.
READ ALSO: AI Will Probably Boost Office Demand. And CRE at Large.
Founded about two years ago, Harvey recently completed its Series C investment, which was led by Google Ventures, with participation from OpenAI, Kleiner Perkins, Sequoia Capital, Elad Gil and SV Angel.
The $100 million investment puts Harvey at a $1.5 billion valuation, enabling the company to continue expanding across business functions and geographies. Harvey has also recently expanded its physical footprint in London, to support its customer base in Europe.
Columbia Property Trust was represented in-house in the deal by Maria Blake and Ted Koltis, along with a Newmark team of David Falk, Peter Shimkin and Jonathan Fanuzzi. Harvey was represented by JLL’s Todd Stracci, Hugh Scott and Jack Nelson.
AI driving otherwise lackluster leasing
Tech leasing has been sluggish in recent years, but a bright spot for office landlords looking to lease to tech companies is the increasing employment by burgeoning AI companies, according to the CBRE’s 2024 Scoring Tech Talent report.
AI’s share of total U.S. tech talent job postings increased to 14.3 percent in June 2024, up from 8.8 percent just before the pandemic in late 2019, CBRE reported, citing Lightcast data. AI roles accounted for 72 percent of all new tech talent jobs in 2023. As demand for AI workers grows, so does their workspace.
Increased demand for specialized skill sets in AI is fueling tech talent job growth, according to Colin Yasukochi, executive director of CBRE’s Tech Insights Center. The company anticipates more tech hiring to take place into 2025 as companies further adopt AI.
The post Columbia Property Trust Lands Lease Expansion in Manhattan appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.
