City Hall is the seat of the New York City Government located within Civic Center, a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan about three blocks away from the site of the World Trade Center. Civic Center is known for housing New York City’s government and the Manhattan Municipal Building, as well as its proximity to the Brooklyn Bridge.
What our brokers say about City Hall
Businesses looking for offices and coworking opportunities in City Hall will benefit from the area’s long list of courthouses and federal buildings, such as the FBI Building, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, and The Supreme Court. The Civic Center, which houses City Hall as well as One Police Plaza and the courthouses in Foley Square, and the Metropolitan Correctional Center, is conveniently located in Southern Manhattan near the Brooklyn Bridge.
If you’re looking for a good place to have a business event or lunch, check out Boucherie, Sagaponack Bar & Grill, Da Claudio, The Capital Grille or One if By Land Two If By Sea. City Hall Park offers a perfect location for an afternoon stroll or a non-traditional business meeting. Walk among centuries-old government buildings and iconic public architecture, and you will probably spot a wide variety of visitors, from newlyweds to jury members. Be sure to also visit Thomas Paine Park and enjoy the view of the Foley Square Fountain and peruse the year-round farmer’s market.
City Hall commercial space for lease | By the numbers
| City Hall Average ($/SqFt) | City Hall Vacancy Rate |
| $61.50 | 4% |
City Hall office space | Lease data & trends
Office space found on City Hall listings tends to rent for an average of $61.50 per square foot. Together with Tribeca, the City Hall office market contains a total inventory of 17.3 million square feet of commercial space, while Downtown Manhattan houses a total of more than 99.2 million square feet.
City Hall’s vacancy rate is just above 4%, slightly below the overall New York, N.Y., office space average of 7.7%, so it’s a competitive market. The asking rate for City Hall is similar to Wall Street Corridor, significantly below World Trade Center, and moderately below the average (all building classes) Downtown Manhattan office rent of $66 per square foot.
Getting around: Transportation in City Hall
Offices in the Financial District, City Hall, and World Trade Center enjoy a range of convenient public transit possibilities. Whether commuters would like to get to work via a PATH train, a ferry, or the subway, they will find many services in City Hall.
Commuters can take the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, A, C, E, R, W, J, and Z trains, the Staten Island Ferry, East River Ferry, or the PATH Train. The 4, 5, A, C, R, J, and Z trains all run into different parts of Brooklyn, including DUMBO, Downtown Brooklyn, Williamsburg, Bushwick, and Sunset Park.
The Civic Center is bordered by Tribeca and Park City to the west; Chinatown to the north; the East River and the Brooklyn Bridge to the east; and the Financial District to the south.
Top commercial real estate listings in City Hall
If your business is looking at listings in New York, N.Y., SquareFoot is here to help meet your office space needs! Before you do an Internet search for properties, please begin your search with this list of available offices in the City Hall we have curated for you:
– 243 Canal Street: Built in 1915, 243 Canal Street is a mixed-use property where Santander Bank and Homevest already use office space. Seven open units throughout the basement; ground floor; 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th floors are available to lease. These offices range from 3,000 to 4,950 square feet. Please contact SquareFoot for pricing and information about amenities. This property is close to the Canal Street, Spring Street, and Grand Street subway stations.
– 96-104 Lafayette Street: 96-104 Lafayette Street is an 8-floor office building in Manhattan. Though it does not have coworking options, it does have three available offices: one is 500 square feet; one is 2,610 square feet, and one is 5,010 square feet. Access this property via the Canal Street Station, the Franklin Street Station, or the Chambers Street station, all conveniently located nearby. Employees can take a break from work and step just outside the office for coffee at Starbuck’s or Sun’s Organic Garden and lunch at August Gatherings or China Village Restaurant, among other choices. Please contact SquareFoot for more information about price and amenities.
– 80 White Street: 80 White Street is an office building located in Manhattan in Chinatown. Currently, it offers one 3rd-floor unit that is 6,250 square feet in size. Contact SquareFoot to learn more about the rental price. The Canal Street and Franklin Street Stations are close by. Take a break from work at Starbucks, Buddha Bodai, Whiskey Tavern, or August Gatherings, which are all just steps from the building.
City Hall history
Perhaps the most notable area of City Hall is City Hall Park. In 1700, New York’s original city hall, which serves as headquarters for NYC, was built there. It’s the oldest city hall in the nation and not only houses the office of the mayor but also is a popular place to get married.
City Hall Park has a lot of history. In 1766, St. Paul’s Chapel, the oldest church in Manhattan, was built there. General Washington went there just after his inauguration as President. The area has been used for lots of things, such as a prison, an art museum, a public execution site and a post office. Today, it houses New York City Hall, the seat of the city’s government. Like most city parks, it features a walkway and beautiful vegetation.
The City Hall area and the Civic Center neighborhood tend to be used for government-related activities, but visitors and residents can also find plenty of entertainment. The Postmasters Gallery shows off new work on a regular basis and often includes art involving digital technologies. A museum called “Mmseumm,” tucked in a freight elevator, features only three items at a time. The Brooklyn Bridge connects Manhattan and Brooklyn across the East River, and people can walk the pedestrian path in 25-30 minutes to get a good view of the city.
The area surrounding City Hall became a popular location for newspaper companies beginning in 1835 because lots of news opportunities arose from the nearby government and judicial buildings. The New York Sun, edited by Benjamin Day, resulted in “The Sun Building,” which still features the newspaper’s masthead and motto—”It Shines for all”—to this day. In 1841, Horace Greeley established the New York Tribune because he wanted people to have a trustworthy news source. In 1868, the New York Journal was established, and William Randolph Hearst bought it in 1985.
Other municipal building sites in New York, N.Y., are as follows: the Bronx County Courthouse in the Bronx; Brooklyn Borough Hall in Downtown Brooklyn; Queens Borough Hall in Kew Gardens; and Staten Island Borough Hall in St. George.
