BY GUS DELAPORTE

Continuing its aggressive expansion across New York, office suite provider Regus has signed a 10-year, 23,000-square-foot lease on the 15th floor at 31 Penn Plaza, The Commercial Observer has learned.

Regus will take responsibility for the build out of the space and is expected to move in during the first quarter of 2014. Asking rents were in the low-$50s per square foot, according to a source familiar with the negotiations.

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BY AL BARBARINO

When the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey landed Condé Naste as 1 World Trade Center’s anchor tenant three years ago, the agency agreed to buy out the media giant’s remaining lease at 4 Times Square.

Now, as the role of a consulting firm hired by the PA to evaluate options for the space nears its end, it sets up an opportunity for the PA to tap the Durst Organization – which owns 4 Times Square and is the PA’s partner at 1 World Trade – or another major real estate firm to take the lead in filling the space.

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The Commercial Observer was honored to be among the winners of the National Association of Real Estate Editors‘ 63rd Annual Real Estate Journalism Awards.

Reporter Billy Gray and editorial illustrator Jori Bolton won the silver award in the Best Team Report category for what NAREE called an “incredibly creative and successful attempt to explain all of the haggling over the government’s lease of the new 1 World Trade Center in New York City.”

NAREE announced its picks last month and welcomed winners to a June 7th ceremony in Atlanta, Georgia.

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BY JOSH SIEGELMAN

In recent years, the Lower East Side and the East Village have become a breeding ground for new and innovative concepts, many of which have achieved immense success in the area, leading to greater expansion throughout the city.

The results can be seen in several recent examples, including The Meatball Shop, Luke’s Lobster, Big Gay Ice Cream, and a recent uptick in organic and raw food specialty restaurants. So what is it about these areas that continues to draw so many fledgling restaurants and allows them to thrive? There are a few common denominators in each success story:

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BY ROBERT SAMMONS

In last week’s episode, Don was just about to ask Dan and Joe what happened after he left the big summer dance. Ha, threw you off there for a second, didn’t I?!

But seriously, folks, in last week’s column, I was discussing the significant fall in sublease availability for the Midtown Manhattan market and how it’s within range of the quarterly average figure over the past 20-plus years. I also hinted at what one might consider more negative news—how direct availability has remained quite steep and in fact is at its highest quarterly average since the early 1990s.

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