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A FLOCK OF NAME-BRAND companies is circling midtown Manhattan, and the competition for large chunks of available office space is intensifying. Media companies Primedia and Conde Nast, financial services giants ING and Bank of America, and law firm Ropes & Gray have all jumped into the market in recent months.
"There are definitely more transactions in the pipeline," says Robert Freedman, chief executive of GVA Williams.
After six quiet months, when a paucity of big deals kept average asking rents for Class A office space in midtown hovering at around $59 a square foot, a number of tenants are now in the market for offices of 100,000-plus square feet. With deal volume increasing and supply stable, rents could push above $60 a square foot by year-end.
According to brokers, Primedia and ING are looking for big spaces so they can consolidate other offices. Ropes...