French Bank Nears Major Lease of JPMorgan Space at 277 Park

French investment bank Natixis is nearing a roughly 270,000-square-foot lease at 277 Park Avenue. It will sublease the space from JPMorgan Chase, which is shedding it for a move to the old Bear Stearns headquarters at 383 Madison.

Natixis will be subleasing at just the right time, according to Real Estate Weekly: "The firm will pay rents in the $80s per square foot. Brokers say that Natixis likely would have had to pay rates over $100 per square foot had it signed a lease for space of the same size and quality before the current economic tumult began to tug on the Manhattan leasing market late last year."