NBCUniversal continues to secure its significant office footprint near Rockefeller Center. The mass media and entertainment conglomerate has extended its lease for 244,185 square feet at Rockefeller Group’s 1221 Avenue of the Americas, according to a CBRE second-quarter office report.
NBC had signed its original lease in this 51-storey Midtown office building in 2012. This was part of a US$190 million investment in the company's New York business operations. At the time, this investment also included comprehensive modernisations and renovations of NBC’s headquarters at the opposite 30 Rockefeller Plaza.
The exact term of the new lease and the agreed rent were not disclosed. However, the CBRE report indicates that average asking office rents in Midtown in the second quarter of 2026 stood at US$86.18 per square foot. It also remains unclear which brokers were involved in brokering the deal. Rockefeller Group declined to comment; spokespeople for CBRE, NBC, and Cushman & Wakefield – the latter having represented Rockefeller Group in previous transactions at 1221 Avenue of the Americas – did not immediately respond to enquiries.
NBC’s recent lease extension comes at a time of increased activity in the Manhattan office letting market. According to the CBRE report, these renewals were among the largest leases signed in the second quarter. NBC last signed an extension for ancillary space at the Midtown property in 2021, increasing its total footprint to 339,933 square feet. It is unclear whether the current extension concerns only a portion of the existing office space or if NBC has reduced its overall footprint.
Another example of robust market dynamics is the lease extension by AON, a global provider of professional services for risk, retirement, and health solutions, which renewed 201,931 square feet at One Liberty Plaza in the Financial District. In Hudson Square, WNYC Radio, New York City’s leading public radio station, extended its lease for 87,283 square feet at 160 Varick Street.
Overall, letting activity in Manhattan totalled 7.9 million square feet in the second quarter. This represents a 24 per cent increase compared to the five-year quarterly average of 6.4 million square feet, according to analyses from the brokerage firm.
