January 31, 2012

VC Firm Abandons Midtown For Digital District

By Ali Elkin

FirstMark Capital firm moves down to 100 Fifth Ave., where several high-profile tech companies, including Apple and Yelp, have signed on in recent months.

A venture capital firm that specializes in providing early-stage capital to technology firms will move down to Manhattan’s growing digital district from midtown.

FirstMark Capital signed a 10-year lease for 10,600 square feet at 100 Fifth Ave., a building that was bought by the Kaufman Organization and Invesco early last year. The asking rent was $55 per square foot. The tenant plans to move in around June.

Grant Greenspan, of the Kaufman Organization, represented the owners, while Bruce Rothman of Studley represented FirstMark. Since the change in ownership, a number of high-profile technology tenants have signed on at the 270,000-square-foot building, located between West 15th and West 16th streets, just a block west of Union Square. Among them are Apple, Net-a-Porter and Yelp, as well as several startups.

“If you’re a social media tenant that is in the market, this is on the tour,” Mr. Greenspan said. One of the reasons he decided to rent to the venture capital firm was to distribute risk away from pure technology tenants. Mr. Greenspan said he’s been seeing a lot of transactions in which a business like FirstMark that serves the tech industry is moving from midtown to the Union Square area to be nearer to potential clients or investments.

Apparently, that cuts both ways. He also noted that some of the tenants he expects to sign on at 100 Fifth Ave. in coming weeks are FirstMark clients. FirstMark’s portfolio includes the online pin board website Pinterest, which was included on Time magazine’s list of the best websites of 2011.

To read the entire Crain's article, click here.