Soho office market for small users blossoms

Real Estate Weekly, April 6, 1994 by Lois Weiss

Anfang said prime Soho office space is getting $15 to $20 a square foot, with some owners on the periphery coming in at $13 a square foot. "It's the hottest area in New York," he said. "For prime Soho buildings, the thirteen dollar days are over."

Cleary said asking rents for the larger 10,000 square-foot floors in Soho, where the owner 'will polish and sand the floor and put in new bathrooms and new windows," are $11 to #12, as is. If the tenant is financially qualified, Cleary added, the owner could contribute more installation and therefore receive more, up to $16 to $18 a square foot.

Gross rents range from $10 to $15 a square foot, added Surry, and could go higher depending on whether it's a gross deal or not.

But there is a limited attractiveness for large tenants, said Surry, "because you don't have large floorplates that tenants like Scholastic require."

Tarter noted, "Five years ago rents were pushing $18. It dropped down slowly because initially, Soho got the benefit of the cheap space because it was sexy to be in Soho when it was $36 uptown."

Anfang finds that 85 percent of his small office users come to him directly. "Now I'm finding more uptown brokers calling me."

To keep his lobby and building "fresh" Anfang is also employing the services of local artists. A sidewalk are project, created by Francoise Schein, led to the building receiving a New York City Arts Commission Award. A five-panel mural for the outside was commissioned from Joel Longenecker while a 16 x 9 foot lobby mural by Lima, Peru native Rico Fonseca was unveiled last month.

Fonseca came to Greenwich Village in 1961 and watched as Soho went from a manufacturing district to the center of the art world. His mural depicts the history of Soho from the 1970s to the present, along with its galleries, shops and people. This is a history that undoubtedly will be updated, because the future holds great promises for Soho.