Fintech startup doubles its space in the Flatiron District

A fintech startup isn’t looking to exit the Manhattan office market. Quite the contrary, in fact.

Ramp has signed a deal with Williams Equities to expand by 66,000 square feet at 28-40 West 23rd Street, according to the Commercial Observer. reported. The startup is also moving from subletting to direct leasing on a separate floor, bringing the property’s total square footage to 132,000 square feet.

The rent requested for the transaction was not disclosed. Asking rent in the broader Midtown South submarket was $84.50 per square foot in the second quarter, according to CBRE.

All of Ramp’s space in the Flatiron District property is covered under a 10-year lease going forward. A Colliers team including Mac Roos and Andrew Roos represented the landlord, while Michael Mathias and RJ Johns of Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant.

A year ago, Ramp moved from Madison Capital’s 71 Fifth Avenue to sublet a space of Microsoft at 28-40 West 23rd Street. The startup, which has occupied the entire second floor as a sublease, offers corporate credit cards and cost-cutting services for businesses.

In the spring, Williams Equities received a loan of $155 million over five years from Citi Real Estate Funding for the two interconnected cast iron buildings, replacing a $140 million CMBS loan.

At the time of the refinancing, the owner planned several improvements to the 12-story building, 577,000 square feet Class B property, such as a roof terrace and a triplex penthouse office; the building dates from 1911.

Anchor tenant Home Depot recently signed an expansion at 40 West 23rd Street. It occupies the ground floor, lower level and mezzanine of the former Stern Brothers department store. Other office tenants include Aramis, of the Estee Lauder brand.

Monthly rents fell by nearly a third from July to August in Manhattan, but jumped 3.5 percent year over yearaccording to a monthly report from Colliers. The borough’s cumulative activity approached 21 million square feet in August, putting the borough on track to surpass 30 million square feet in volume for the first time in five years.

— Holden Walter Warner