After months of dragging its feet, the New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services finalized two lease renewals totaling 424,000 square feet for Human Resources Administration offices in Manhattan and the South Bronx.
DCAS, which oversees the city’s leasing and property purchases, renewed a 20-year lease for the entire 12-story building at Gould Investors’ 109 East 16th Street, at the corner of Irving Place, according to information provided by Cushman & Wakefield, which represented the city in the deal. HRA, the agency that’s occupied the space since 1991, handles emergency rental assistance, food stamps, temporary cash assistance, and job placement services for the neediest New Yorkers, and it works with the Department of Homeless Services.
The agency agreed to a rent increase for its office space in the 349,777-square-foot property. HRA inked a deal to pay an annual rent of $15.8 million for its offices in the century-old building beginning in June 2018, according to the The City Record. That works out to roughly $45 a square foot. The landlord has agreed to make some kind of renovations to the building, which will cost up to $13.9 million and be paid for by the city. Once the renovations have been completed, HRA’s rent will increase to $16.5 million annually through June 2023. Then it will grow to $19.1 million from June 2023 to June 2028, to $21.8 million from June 2028 to June 2033, and finally to $24.7 million in the last five years of the lease.