Report: Old Times HQ, Other Empty Spaces Spill Lots of Office Space onto Manhattan

An market report out today by brokerage Colliers ABR puts the Manhattan Class A office vacancy rate at 5.5 percent for October, up from 5.3 percent in September and 5.1 percent in August, when the rate hit its nadir.

So is the credit crunch – the loyal punching bag for all things negative in the New York City real estate world now – to blame?

Not quite, according to the report. Between just seven large blocks of space, Manhattan saw almost 3 million square feet of office space become available, including the old New York Times building at 229 West 43rd Street with 630,000 square feet.

All that came flooding in while the largest lease deal announced, according to the report, was American Lawyer Media's 90,000-square-foot one at 120 Broadway.

The story is slightly different for downtown, which, at 4.6 percent for Class A, is registering its lowest vacancy rate since 2001.

As for rents, average Class A asking prices grew yet again, hitting $84.75 a square foot for the borough, up from $83.85 in September.