HSBC grabs 265K sf at Tishman Speyer’s Spiral

Bank is expected to move into Hudson Yards skyscraper by January 2024

The Spiral with Tishman Speyer's Rob Speyer and HSBC's Noel Quinn (Getty, HSBC)
The Spiral with Tishman Speyer's Rob Speyer and HSBC's Noel Quinn (Getty, HSBC)

Tishman Speyer has reeled in another high-profile tenant to its brand-new Hudson Yards tower.

HSBC has signed a lease for 265,000 square feet at the Spiral, making the soon-to-open skyscraper the new U.S. headquarters for the London-based bank. HSBC will occupy three of the building’s 65 floors.

The financial terms of the 20-year agreement were not disclosed. JLL represented HSBC in the deal. Tishman Speyer was represented by an in-house leasing team.

HSBC is expected to relocate from its current Midtown headquarters at 452 Fifth Avenue to 66 Hudson Boulevard in January 2024.

The deal reflects the so-called flight to quality — a demand for modern, high-end, energy-efficient office space to lure workers back to their desks — as well as a downsizing as employees are likely to work from home at least some of the time for the foreseeable future.

HSBC, after considering moving in the mid 2010s, renewed its lease for 548,000 square feet at 452 Fifth Avenue in 2017 for an additional five years through 2025 — meaning that its new headquarters will be close to half the size of its current office space.

“As we embark on the next chapter of HSBC in the U.S., we believe it is the right time to relocate our hybrid workforce to a headquarters designed for the future,” HSBC’s U.S. and Americas CEO Michael Roberts said in a statement Monday.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

He cited a desire to strengthen “our employee and customer experience while also bringing us closer to our net-zero objectives.”

Read more

HSBC had been in discussions with Tishman Speyer to relocate to the real estate development’s newest tower overlooking the Hudson River and the High Line. Talks were taking place as the bank was seeking to reduce its office space in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and employees pivoting to remote work.

The Spiral is nearing completion and is expected to begin welcoming tenants this summer. Designed by BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group, the 1,041-foot-tall structure stretches an entire block from West 34th to West 35th streets between 10th Avenue and Bella Abzug Park.

Nearly 70 percent of the 2.8-million-square-foot project has now been leased. Asking rents in the building have reportedly ranged from $110 to $225 per square foot.

Pfizer’s global headquarters will occupy 14 floors across 746,000 square feet at the Spiral. Turner Construction has plans to establish its new world headquarters on two floors spanning 75,000 square feet.

The law firm Debevoise & Plimpton has committed to 13 floors and 530,000 square feet, and the asset management company AllianceBernstein has agreed to occupy three-plus floors comprising 200,000 square feet.