Anthropic Leads NYC Office Leases With 466K-SF Deal

Anthropic’s 466,000-square-foot lease at 330 Hudson Street led New York’s largest office deals in July, putting the AI company well ahead of every other tenant on the list, based on The Real Deal. The deal gives Anthropic the full Hudson Square building and marks another major expansion by an AI firm in Manhattan.

AI takes the top spot:

Anthropic’s deal was nearly twice the size of the month’s second-largest transaction, giving AI a prominent position in an otherwise mixed leasing market. Two other AI companies also landed among the top 10: Legora signed for 98,000 square feet at 11 Madison Avenue, while NormAI leased 64,000 square feet at 1 World Trade Center.

The three AI deals accounted for 628,000 square feet of the 1.494 million square feet represented by the top 10 transactions.

The details:

Anthropic will occupy all 466,000 square feet at 330 Hudson Street in Hudson Square, a building owned by AEW Capital Management. The expansion had been reported as in the works since at least April.

NBCUniversal ranked second with a 244,000-square-foot renewal at 1221 Sixth Avenue. The media company has occupied space in the building since 2012, with Rockefeller Group serving as landlord.

Loeb & Loeb took the third spot with a 179,000-square-foot renewal at 345 Park Avenue. The 16-year extension also expands the law firm’s footprint by 19,000 square feet.

Other major transactions included Cerberus Capital Management’s 131,000-square-foot renewal at 875 Third Avenue; United Talent Agency’s 101,000-square-foot lease at the Empire State Building; and Legora’s 98,000-square-foot, 10-year lease at 11 Madison Avenue.

A broader NYC office mix:

AI was not the only source of significant office demand. Architecture firm HDR leased 75,000 square feet at 7 Penn Plaza, Energy Capital Partners took 70,000 square feet at One World Trade Center, and venue operator Glasshouse signed for 66,000 square feet at 3 World Trade Center.

The roster also highlights the importance of renewals alongside new leasing. NBCUniversal, Loeb & Loeb and Cerberus all extended existing commitments, suggesting that some of Manhattan’s largest office users remain willing to lock in space even as tenants continue to reassess their footprints.

At the same time, several tenants used transactions to reshape their portfolios. United Talent Agency’s 101,000-square-foot Empire State Building lease will consolidate multiple Manhattan offices, while Loeb & Loeb is increasing its space alongside its renewal.

Why it matters:

The July rankings point to a notable feature of Manhattan’s office recovery: large technology commitments are becoming increasingly important to the market’s headline leasing volume.

AI companies represented three of the 10 largest transactions and more than 40% of the square footage in those top 10 deals. Anthropic alone accounted for nearly one-third of the 1.494 million square feet represented by the group.

That concentration matters for landlords because AI firms can be unusually consequential office tenants. Their growth can generate outsized requirements for well-located, high-quality space, potentially supporting buildings and submarkets that can accommodate rapid expansion.

What’s next:

The key question is whether July’s AI-heavy leasing activity represents the start of a broader pattern or a handful of outsized transactions. Anthropic’s full-building commitment is particularly significant because it follows a period in which Manhattan landlords have increasingly competed for tenants capable of absorbing large blocks of space.

Future leasing reports will show whether other AI companies continue to join the top tier of Manhattan office demand. For owners, brokers and investors, the sector’s expansion is becoming a metric worth tracking alongside traditional demand from financial services, law firms and media companies.