Digital banking platform Laurel Road nabbed 15,240 square feet on the 11th floor of the Union Square tech hub Zero Irving, Commercial Observer has learned.
The health care and student loan-focused lender, owned by the Ohio-based bank KeyBank, inked a five-year deal for space in the 21-story building at 124 East 14th Street, according to RAL Development Services, which co-developed the building with Junius Real Estate Partners. Asking rents at the property range from $100 to $175 per square foot, said Josh Wein, managing director of RAL.
Laurel Road was looking to expand its footprint in the city and plans to move into the property between Third and Fourth avenues early next year, said Wein. It’s unclear if the firm will give up its smaller offices at 1995 Broadway. Laurel Road did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
RAL Junius transformed a former P.C. Richard & Son location into what they hope will be a 250,000-square-foot tech hub, with its eighth through 12th floors dedicated to developing young tech companies. It has so far signed three tenants, including Laurel Road, for its other spaces. Payment platform Melio inked a deal for 25,000 square feet last year, and software firm Sigma Computing, took 15,420 square feet on the ninth floor in March. Wein said there were plenty of other deals in the pipeline for the building, especially for companies looking to leave remote work behind.
“In a post-COVID environment you’re really going to want nicer office space to help attract employees back to office and [provide] a conducive environment for work, and this building does all of that,” Wein said.
The building, which just received its certificates of occupancy in July, was constructed on city-owned land thanks to a 99-year ground lease with the New York City Economic Development Corporation.
JLL’s Benjamin Bass, Mitchell Konsker, Dan Turkewitz, Kristen Morgan and Carlee Palmer handled negotiations for the landlord. Kenneth Siegel and Kyle Riker, also of JLL, represented Laurel Road.
Celia Young can be reached at cyoung@commercialobserver.com.
