It’s likely that the Estée Lauder offices currently at 767 Fifth Avenue and at 110 East 59th Street will be combined at a new third location, according to an item published yesterday afternoon on therealdeal.com.
“The 70-year-old company is scouting locations for [a] new home that could see it consolidate the nearly 300,000 square feet it has at the GM Building, as well as roughly 150,000 square feet nearby at Jack Resnick & Sons’ [East 59th Street building],” real estate information company CoStar tells that site.
Time sensitive
Estée Lauder’s lease on its space in the GM Building will run out in 2020 and the other lease in question expires even sooner, in 2018. When leases end, prices go up. Therealdeal.com notes that in 2015 three new leases were signed for space in the GM Building, all at prices above $200 a square foot.
Reportedly, the beauty company is working with commercial real estate investment management company CBRE to weigh the options of a possible new headquarters. “CBRE’s Stephen Siegel is now bringing the tenant to market, sources said, though the search is still in the early stages and has not yet zeroed in on particular buildings,” according to therealdeal.com.
Where to go
If Estée Lauder moves, the company won’t stay in the neighborhood. “Any search is likely to swing through new buildings on the Far West Side and Downtown, where rents are significantly lower compared to the GM Building, located at 767 Fifth Avenue,” notes therealdeal.com.
Which is precisely how L’Oréal found its new home. That company just moved its headquarters from 575 Fifth Avenue to number 10 Hudson Yards on Manhattan’s Far West Side. L’Oréal played up the rising neighborhood’s lively character, but price certainly factored heavily in the relocation.
“Hudson Yards and Terminal Stores have a dynamic and creative energy that aligns with the culture we are building at L’Oréal USA,” Frédéric Rozé, president and CEO of L’Oréal USA, told the press in June. And perhaps Estée Lauder will soon be among L’Oréal’s creative neighbors.