Deloitte, the mammoth accounting firm that represents the largest tenant looking for space in the Manhattan marketplace—it’s prospecting with Cushman & Wakefield for between 500,000 and 600,000 square feet—is narrowing its search to two buildings: World Financial Center, where much of its operations are currently housed, and Worldwide Plaza at 825 Eighth Avenue, according to Crain’s New York Business.
The Observer has since been told that the report is mostly, though not entirely, accurate, which would seem to indicate that at least one other building is in play.
According to Crain’s, “[S]ources say … it will likely stay at the World Financial Center because of the reasonable rents and the cost savings associated with not having to move. One source said Brookfield is looking at asking rents in the mid- to upper-$40s a square foot.”
Deloitte has been the subject of considerable speculation since last year, when the accounting giant sent requests for proposals to landlords in which it declared its interest in between 600,000 and 800,000 square feet of space. That space requirement has, apparently, since been pared down.
drubinstein@observer.com
