Young & Rubicam, one of the largest businesses of its kind in the world and owned by the London-based advertising powerhouse WPP, has agreed to lease 124,760 sqft and acquire 214,372 sqft of office space at 1775 Broadway.
The acquisition relates to a condominium covering floors 3 to 8, while the lease arrangement signs the business up for a 20-year stay at offices on floors 9, 10, 18 and 19. The building is being radically redeveloped, with the marketing group established as the anchor tenant for the prestigiously located Manhattan offices.
Both deals were welcomed as considerably significant for the city by the building’s landlord, SL Green Realty, and by the Moinian Group, the development group that led the revamp.
SL Green’s chief executive Marc Holliday said: “3 Columbus Circle is now a premier Manhattan corporate address featuring great retail, access to transportation, and prime office space with Central Park Views.”
“We’re delighted to welcome the Young & Rubicam Group, one of the world’s leading marketing and communications firms, as our anchor tenant. They had very specific needs in seeking a new headquarters, and we’re pleased that 3 Columbus Circle was able to satisfy the firm’s requirements.”
SL Green had an interest in 58 separate properties across Manhattan at the end of the third quarter of 2011. It expects the 1775 Broadway Building to receive a silver LEED certification before officially opening for business.
Young & Rubicam’s operations include digital and interactive marketing, public relations and traditional advertising. It has some 12,000 employees worldwide, while its parent company, the WPP Group, has its head office in London and its executive office in Dublin.
Editor’s notes: In October 2023, it was announced that Young & Rubicam, founded in 1923, had become VML. The LinkedIn VML company page describes VML as “a global powerhouse born from the unification of Wunderman Thompson and VMLY&R—two of the world’s most powerful and accomplished creative agencies.”
The Y&R refers to Young & Rublicam.
At the time, the new firm had 13,000 employees and, in May 2024, had headquarters at 3 World Trade Center,
175 Greenwich Street, New York, and 250 Richards Road, Kansas City, Missouri.