In what commercial brokers say is the largest new lease transaction in Downtown Manhattan during the past 18 months, MJHS Health System has signed a 138,374-squ

NEW YORK—In what commercial brokers say is the largest new lease transaction in Downtown Manhattan during the past 18 months, MJHS Health System has signed a 138,374-square-foot office lease at 55 Water St. in Downtown Manhattan.

CBRE, which arranged the 30-year lease transaction, reports that MJHS will be consolidating most of its Brooklyn offices as well as its current Manhattan location to the entire 46th and 47th floors of the 3.8-million square-foot office building located in the heart of Downtown Manhattan’s Financial District.

CBRE’s Howard Fiddle, Brad Gerla, Even Haskell and Mary Ann Tighe represented building owner New Water Street Corp., a subsidiary of the Retirement Systems of Alabama, in the transaction. The CBRE team of Chris Mansfield, Harly Stevens and Zach Weil acted on behalf of MJHS. David Portal of Nixon Peabody was legal counsel to MJHS in this transaction and Jennifer Yashar of Fried Frank was legal counsel to New Water Street Corp.

“Improving quality of life for our employees, offering access to more public transportation, bringing our staff together to support greater collaboration, and remaining fiscally responsible, were key priorities in seeking new office space,” said David Wagner, President and CEO of MJHS Health System.

Wagner added, “CBRE helped us analyze our square footage needs and, in identifying 55 Water Street, delivered a sun-filled, high-security building with a large floor plate that maximizes efficiency and makes it possible for us to reduce our overall footprint by 20%. Continuing to conduct our office search and negotiating during the pandemic also helped us achieve favorable terms. A critical part of our roots, MJHS will continue to maintain a presence in Brooklyn. We will also maintain our Garden City office,” Wagner said.

“55 Water is one of the most attractive office addresses in Downtown Manhattan, offering MJHS and its employees an unsurpassed, amenity-rich workplace with ready access to transportation,” said CBRE’s Fiddle. “Their decision to commit to a long-term lease at 55 Water Street speaks to the advantages of Downtown Manhattan as well as the updates completed by ownership at the building.”

Dan Palino, Chief Operating Officer at New Water Street, added, “55 Water Street is over 95% leased and has been throughout the pandemic which is a testament to the quality of the asset and the overall value proposition we provide to our tenants. As a well-established, 115-year-old not-for-profit organization, MJHS Health System is an ideal long-term tenant for our building.”

55 Water St. is also home to the Elevated Acre public park, a meadow flanked by delightfully designed gardens and planters 40 feet above the streets of New York.