Battery Park City office space comprises the planned community in the southwestern tip of Lower (Downtown) Manhattan in New York City. Named for the adjacent Battery Park, this neighborhood is mostly residential but also contains eight office buildings: seven in Brookfield Place complex (which was previously called the World Financial Center), as well as 200 West Street.
Battery Park City houses a total of 10.7 million square feet of office space. Since 2009, Goldman Sachs has had its headquarters at 200 West Street, utilizing 2.1 million square feet of office space. Developers built Battery City Park using 3 million cubic yards of soil and rock removed to build the World Trade Center, the New York City Water Tunnel, and a few other projects.
What our brokers say about Battery Park City
Battery Park City is a relatively new neighborhood that in the past few years has attracted attention as an ideal location for business. The neighborhood is known for being quiet, laid-back, and peaceful, with a low crime rate. It is filled with modern office spaces boasting wonderful views of both New York Harbor and the Hudson River. In part thanks to its proximity to the Financial District and to the renovation of Brookfield Place, Battery Park City has become a popular location for media, tech, and finance companies in recent years.
Public-benefit corporation Hugh L. Carey Battery Park City Authority (BPCA) owns and manages the Battery Park City neighborhood. “The neighborhood has been developed, and now we have a responsibility to maintain it,” said B. J. Jones, BPCA president and chief executive, Aileen Jacobson writes for The New York Times. West Street runs along Battery Park City’s eastern border, creating its boundary with the Financial District. The Hudson River and its banks surround the other sides of Battery Park City. The neighborhood includes the Stuyvesant High School, the Battery Park City branch of the New York City Public Library, Conrad New York Hotel, Gateway Plaza (primarily filled with high-rise buildings), and several residential neighborhoods.
Battery Park City isn’t all business. It’s also full of dining, shopping, and touring opportunities. “You used to want to go across the West Side Highway to Tribeca for a variety of eating and shopping,” said Shari Hyman, BPCA’s former president. “Now it’s the reverse; people come over here for that.” Want to get out of the office for lunch? Try out one of the following OpenTable-recommended restaurants in Battery Park City: Seamore’s Brookfield Place, Merchants River House, or Gigino at Wagner Park. For shopping, try the World Financial Center’s Winter Garden. Trinity Church, the Museum of Jewish Heritage, and the Irish Hunger Memorial are tourist destinations located nearby. To get a break from the office, walk to Battery Park—sometimes simply called “The Battery”—for gardens, bike paths, an urban farm, and beautiful views of the harbor.
Battery Park City commercial space for lease | By the numbers
| Office Space for Lease | Price per square foot |
| Class A | $73.50 |
| Overall Average | $67 |
Lease data & trends
Battery Park City is part of the Downtown (Lower) Manhattan office space submarket. As of Q3 of 2019, Downtown Manhattan boasted more than 99 million square feet of office space with an 8.8 percent vacancy rate. The average asking rent is just under $67 per square foot for all classes and just over $73.50 per square foot for Class A. About two-thirds of Downtown Manhattan office space is Class A, and about one-third is Class B.
Subleasing office space is a cost-cutting option for businesses that want to save money but still work in Downtown Manhattan. Office subleases are arranged directly with a current office tenant and may lack the assurances that come with a direct lease through a landlord. However, for businesses that need additional flexibility, lower costs, and privacy unavailable at a coworking office, subleasing could be a good strategy.
Overall, Downtown Manhattan office space is most ideal for commercial tenants in financial and government services due to unmatched proximity to New York City’s core infrastructure. For example, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is located in Four World Trade Center. However, the slow downsizing of the financial services sector over the last ten years has opened up commercial real estate to the technology, advertising, media, and Information sectors as well.
Notable companies with headquarters or offices in Lower Manhattan include Investment Technology Group, Condé Nast, Goldman Sachs, Hudson’s Bay Company, Spotify, Verizon Communications, PR Newswire, AOL, Group M, and IBT Media.
Getting around: Transportation
Convenient transportation is just one of Battery Park City’s many perks. Just a few blocks of West Street, access the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, A, C, E, J, R, and Z trains. Or, walk to the World Trade Center Station and take a PATH train into New Jersey. Travelers who like to take the ferry are in luck, too—the Battery Park City Ferry Terminal lies directly within the neighborhood. Grand Central Terminal, Penn Station, and the Port Authority Bus Terminal are all just a few minutes away by subway. Buses M9, M20, and M22 stop in Battery Park City.
Commuters can get from Battery Park City to Columbus Circle in 34 minutes by train (or in 35 minutes by car), to Grand Central in 26 minutes by train (or in 29 minutes by car), to Union Square in 24 minutes by train (or in 19 minutes by car), or to Wall Street in four minutes by car.
The closest airport to Battery Park City is the Newark-Liberty International Airport.
Top commercial real estate listings in Battery Park City
Ready to secure Battery Park City office space in this up-and-coming Downtown Manhattan neighborhood? One of our experienced brokers would be happy to introduce you to commercial real estate options to Battery City Park to meet and exceed your expectations. Or, begin your search by looking up 250 Vesey Street, 200 Vesey Street, or 200 Liberty Street, three highly recommended properties in the neighborhood:
– 250 Vesey Street: The building formerly known as Four World Financial Center is located at 250 Vesey Street at the intersection of Vesey Street and West Street in the Brookfield Place complex. Constructed in 1986, this office tower boasts 1.8 million square feet of Class A office space and 34 stories. Current tenants include Scotia Bank, Spectrum Science, SunEdison, Olapic, and Volant Trading. The vacancy rate for the building averages 5 percent. Currently, 250 Vesey Street has one available unit that is 55,465 square feet in size; contact SquareFoot for pricing and other details. 250 Vesey Street tenants will benefit from the building’s proximity to many restaurant options, the other buildings in the Brookfield Place complex, the Financial District, and a variety of transportation options. Access Four World Financial via the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, A, C, E, R or W subways. The PATH train is available nearby as well.
– 200 Liberty Street: Formerly called One World Financial Center, this skyscraper is now simply called 200 Liberty Street. It’s part of the Brookfield Place complex and lies between South End Avenue and West Street. Built in 1985, it is 40 stories tall and offers 1,628,000 square feet of rentable space. 200 Liberty Street has world-class amenities, 180 degree views of New York harbor, and convenient commuter access. Get to 200 liberty Street via the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, A, C, E, J, R, W, or Z subways. The property has a Walk Score of 97 and has 800 dedicated parking spaces. Try out Merchants River Steakhouse, P.J. Clarke’s, or St. George Tavern for lunch nearby. Notable tenants at 200 Liberty Street include Associated Press, Deloitte and Touche, Fidelity Investments, Dow Jones & Co., The Wall Street Journal, and GfK. At the moment, 14 units ranging from 11,568 to 75,020 are available for rent at 200 Liberty Street. Contact SquareFoot to learn more about pricing or to schedule a tour of the building.
– 200 Vesey Street: 51-story skyscraper 200 Vesey Street, formerly named Three World Financial Center, is more commonly called the American Express Tower. It is located on West Street in between Liberty and Vesey Streets and is the tallest building in the Brookfield Place complex. Cesar Pelli & Associates designed 200 Vesey Street, which houses more than 2.1 million square feet of rentable office space. 200 Vesey Street has 300,000 square feet of luxury retail and dining, 800 parking spaces, 250 bike parking spots, eight signature restaurants, and a daycare. The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), MDRC, PR Newswire, National Holdings Corporation, American Express, Bank of Indonesia, Regus, and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York already lease space at 200 Vesey Street. Six units between 80 and 14,840 square feet in size are open and available to new renters in the building. Contact us to make inquiries. Easily travel to this location using the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, A, C, E, R, or W subways. Take a coffee break at Pick-a-Bagel, Twin Cafe, or Kaffe 1668 nearby.
History
“In a charming way, Battery Park City is technically New York’s oldest and newest neighborhood at the same time,” a triplemint.com writer quips. The “battery” part of Battery Park City stems all the way from 1630, when the Dutch set up a battery of cannons pointing over the water at Manhattan’s southern tip. Between then and now, a variety of structures have occupied the space, but only the walls of Fort Clinton are still standing from that time period.
The land where the modern day Battery Park City lies used to be called Little Syria. In the 20th Century, most of what we now know as Battery Park City was still hidden under the Hudson River or its banks. In the 1960s, developers decided to take the land surrounding the Hudson River and make it into a residential neighborhood. The plan worked, and the first residential building was constructed in 1980. Battery Park City is a unique neighborhood, especially because it is quiet and contains so much green space.
The September 11, 2001, attacks profoundly impacted Battery Park City. For a while, Battery Park City residents were forced to leave their homes. The World Trade Center towers collapsed, leaving behind toxic smoke and debris. Reduced rental costs and financial help from the government helped restore residential rates in the coming years. Eventually, developers rebuilt the area and began working on new developments as well. For example, in 2005, work began on 200 West Street, the Goldman Sachs global headquarters. It opened in 2009. The Battery Park City Authority (BPCA) continues to work to “plan, create, coordinate and maintain a balanced community of commercial, residential, retail, and park space within its designated 92-acred site on the lower west side of Manhattan.”