Spotify needed less space at the World Trade Center, but StubHub needed more: In a deal that satisfied everyone, including landlord Larry Silverstein, the online live-events marketplace subleased a whopping 103,000 square feet of space from the music streaming company.
Savills represented StubHub, which is relocating from its 44,000 square feet at 3 World Trade Center to a space more than twice as large at adjacent World Trade 4. Savills said the deal will give StubHub more access to Spotify’s space at World Trade 4 in the future.
Separately, another unidentified tenant at 3 World Trade may exercise an option to expand into StubHub’s former space, the sources said.
“This significant expansion at 4 World Trade will support StubHub’s growth not only downtown, but within its global headquarters in one of Manhattan’s premier buildings,” said Scott Boghetti, managing director at Savills. “That we were able to structure a transaction that meets StubHub’s needs is a testament to the collaboration of all parties involved in this transaction.”
The move also signals the strength of Silverstein’s World Trade Center holdings: Towers 3, 4 and 7, which encompass roughly 10 million square feet, are nearly full.
Jeremy Moss, director of leasing at Silverstein, said of the Spotify and StubHub situation:
“Part of the appeal of a multi-building campus is that it provides growth opportunities for larger tenants.
“Whenever a sublease space becomes available at the World Trade Center, it fills up quickly,” Moss said.
The terms of the sublease are unclear, and Moss said direct rents for the little space remaining will be in the $90s per square foot at 4 WTC and in the low 90s to “a few hundred dollars” at 3 WTC.
Spotify has been downsizing its office space as it cuts staff, cuts costs, and allows employees to work from home. It previously subleased 69,000 square feet to payroll company Ripple and 85,000 square feet to language-learning platform Duolingo.
The sublease to StubHub will reduce Spotify’s space to just over half of its original 564,000 square feet at 4 World Trade.
Other big tenants at 3 World Trade include WPP, law firm Freshfields, McKinsey and Uber. 4 World Trade is home to Spotify, insurance company Zurich, a unit of KKR, and online finance platform Clearstreet, which has taken over floors previously rented by MediaMath.
