The NYC Mastermind Meeting focused on increasing rents even as there are varying rates across the city. Jonathan Dean, Director of Leasing at Swig Equities led a discussion of property valuations and loss factor in lower Manhattan, noting that pricing is all over the place. Some older buildings built in the 1920s and 1930s such as 50 Broad Street are now enjoying rents more comparable to new glass and steel buildings including One Battery Park Plaza. On the other end of the spectrum, World Trade Center is getting $70 and $80/SF, depending on the location in the building. It is hard for small tenants looking for space downtown to find affordable options as rents are sometimes increasing $10 to $15/SF overnight.

Michael Gochman, owner of Gochman Group shared a Grand Central comp on a 250,000 law firm at 350 Madison Avenue. The space is in the middle of the building with some exterior space. The 15 year deal is at $82/SF for the first five years, increasing to $88/SF and $94/SF for years 6-10 and 11-15, respectively. Among other concessions, the first 18 months are rent free and there is a tenant improvement allowance of $85 PSF from a clean white box space.