Koeppel Rosen LLC, leasing and management agent for the Rosen family portfolio, secured five new office leases totaling 15,474 square feet at 1261 Broadway, an 11-story building in Manhattan’s Midtown South neighborhood. The leases included the following:

• Abell Eskew Landau LLP signed a new 7772-square-foot lease in a relocation from its previous space at 265 Fifth Ave. The law firm was represented by Nick Farmakis and Jordan Weiss of Savills.

• Law firm Hunter Cottingham PLLC signed a lease for 4,599 square feet. Robert Yaffa of RDY Advisors, LLC, and Claire Koeppel of Newmark represented Hunter Cottingham.

• Joseph J. Blake and Associates, Inc., a real estate appraisal and valuation firm, leased 1,467 square feet and was represented by Bradley Cohn of Adams & Company Real Estate.

• Nisso & Co Trading Corp., a wholesale jewelry distributor, leased 955 square feet.

• RSLT Capital Management LLC, an investment management firm, leased 681 square feet, represented by JD Cohen of Newmark & Company Real Estate, Inc.

“Tenants across a variety of industries are focused on securing efficient workspace in highly accessible Midtown locations,” said Max Koeppel, director of leasing at Koeppel Rosen, who represented ownership in-house for all five transactions. “Many tenants are finding that at 1261 Broadway, which offers flexibility, strong value relative to the market, and floor plates that work well for tenants in this size range.”

Ambrose announced the signing of three separate leases with occupiers at modern industrial facilities in Cincinnati, Denver and Orlando, totaling over 190,000 square feet of space.

Sky Café, a subsidiary of PrimeFlight Aviation Services that provides catering logistics for commercial airlines, has leased 16,640 square feet at Building III of Ascent Commerce Center, a multi-tenant industrial park comprised of three industrial buildings in the Denver Airport submarket. The leasing agent for the park is the locally-based Cushman & Wakefield team.

OSH Cut, a manufacturing firm, leased 69,659 square feet in Building II of Cincinnati Logistics Park – Airport West, a modern, four-building, 84.77-acre industrial development in the Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky market. The leasing agent for the park is a local Colliers International team.

A confidential technology subsidiary of a Fortune 500 company has signed a 103,878-square-foot, full-building lease at Ambrose’s Orlando Logistics Park at LeeVista in Orlando, Florida. The leasing agent for the park is a JLL team.

The first three months of 2026 were the most active period for office landlords since before the pandemic.

Office tenants signed roughly 120M SF in new leases in the first quarter of the year, a 25% increase compared to the first quarter of 2025 and the highest quarterly total since 2018, according to a CoStar report.

The surge was largely driven by a higher volume of smaller leases — a trend that emerged after the pandemic. The number of leases signed hit its highest point going back a decade.

“While the quarterly figure signifies continued momentum for national office recovery, the composition of leasing activity reflects an intensification of patterns that have emerged in the leasing office market since the pandemic began,” CoStar National Director of Office Analytics Phil Mobley wrote in the analysis.

Since the beginning of 2023, new lease sizes remained about 15% below pre-pandemic averages, due in part to restricted hiring and the lack of larger space in newer buildings, according to the report.

Smaller leases also tend to be more fluid with shorter terms, promoting more leasing activity.

Amid the surge, almost half of the nation’s largest office markets have had leasing return within 10% of their pre-pandemic averages — primarily led by Charlotte, New York City, Miami and San Francisco, which are above their 2015 to 2019 averages.

Courtesy of CoStar Group

The demand from banks and financial institutions, which have maintained a higher in-office attendance record, has uplifted leasing recovery. That trend is particularly strong in Charlotte, where Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. have all announced significant expansions.

But there are still a handful of metropolitan areas — including Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Denver, Seattle, San Diego and Philadelphia — that are still below 20% of their pre-pandemic average of office leasing activity.

Looking forward, the first quarter’s momentum may not be sustainable through 2026 amid economic and uncertainty pressures, Mobley wrote.

“On the demand side, the return-to-office movement is reaching its apogee, and job growth remains tepid,” he wrote. “Rising energy costs associated with the conflict with Iran also present a headwind to economic growth and, in turn, to demand for office space.”

Hunneman Real Estate brokered an 11,248 square-foot, 12-year lease of CKM Real Estate’s 250 Apollo in Chelmsford, MA to Triton Systems, an advanced materials, coatings and systems engineering product development firm that has been a defense contractor for more than 30 years.  To facilitate the move, 250 Apollo will undergo significant infrastructure upgrades to reflect the tenant’s unique needs.

“Securing this lease is a testament to CKM Real Estate’s creativity in navigating an extremely competitive market,” said Chris Curley, EVP at Hunneman. “The flexibility of 250 Apollo to adapt and accommodate a wide range of user types, including research and development space, flex uses and GMP through a fully permitted 50,000-rentable-square-foot expansion of the building serves as a key differentiator for tenants seeking dynamic spaces.”

Curley and Hunneman’s Ken Oppenheim and Mike Allen represented ownership. The two-floor, 143,215 square-foot 250 Apollo was constructed in 1986 and most recently renovated in 2020.

GA Group and A&G Real Estate Partners plan to auction 790 retail store leases and five distribution centers in conjunction with the wind-down of fabric and crafts retailer Joann Inc. following its January filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The bid deadline is April 16 and the auction is expected to occur in New York on April 22.

The available leases cover a range of property types across 49 states, including freestanding stores, power centers, strip malls and urban retail corridors, ranging from 7,500 to 52,000 square feet. No fee-owned properties are available in the auction.

“This diverse portfolio offers strong real estate fundamentals, prime high-traffic locations, and turnkey spaces ready for immediate occupancy,” said Michael Jerbich of GA Group. “This auction offers business owners and investors a prime opportunity to expand their footprint and strengthen their local presence.”

GA Group was recognized in February as the successful bidder to serve as exclusive agent to monetize substantially all Joann’s assets.

Lincoln Equities Group (LEG) has signed a 303,100-square-foot lease with Lesser Evil, a Connecticut-based sustainable company that makes clean, organic, less-processed snacks. Located at Lincoln Logistics 84×684 Crossings in Brewster, NY, the property will serve as a finished goods distribution site for the brand.

Newmark executive managing directors Adam Petrillo and Art Ross, managing director Bradley Soules and Analyst Jack Chatwin arranged the lease with Lesser Evil. They’re also marketing the adjacent 618,000 square feet on the campus.

“Location is key and Lesser Evil’s lease at Lincoln Logistics 84×684 Crossings puts them in a fantastic spot for its Northeast distribution facility,” said Petrillo. “With its strategic location that offers connectivity to New York City, Westchester and Connecticut markets, we look forward to welcoming Lesser Evil and future tenants to the campus.”

Located in Putnam County with accessibility to several major highways, Lincoln Logistics 84×684 Crossings offers tenants access to more than 22 million consumers within a two-hour drive.

Register Today to “Be in the Room” when Michael Brennan receives Connect CRE’s Lifetime Achievement Award and will participate in the Keynote Interview with Kevin Brennan, also of Brennan Investment Group. Join us at Connect Industrial Midwest 2025 on the afternoon of Wednesday, March 5, at Joe’s Live in Rosemont, IL, for this exclusive presentation! 

Transwestern Real Estate Services (TRS) announced that St. Croix Hospice has signed a new, long-term lease at Mendota Tech – Workplace 3, located at 1175 Center Pointe Circle in Mendota Heights, Minnesota.

The care provider will occupy the full 30,586-square-foot suburban office building. Transwestern Principal Mike Honsa and Senior Vice President Eric Rapp represented owner Capital Partners in lease negotiations. St. Croix Hospice was represented by Tim Olsen of Carlson Partners.

“We’re excited to welcome St. Croix Hospice to the office campus,” said Honsa. “It is a great development for Mendota Heights as St. Croix brings its existing workforce to the city.” St. Croix Hospice, which is relocating from Oakdale, plans to occupy the building in the first quarter of 2025.

1175 Center Point Circle is in the 8-building Mendota Tech Office Park in Mendota Heights. The campus offers amenities such as outdoor patios and green space, ample free parking, and access to the Big Rivers Regional Trail along the Mississippi River.

A&G Real Estate Partners is now accepting bids on 255 Big Lots store leases nationwide as part of the retailer’s Chapter 11 restructuring and sale process. The leases, which include 51 that are new-to-market, are being offered in two groups, pending determination by the court of final bid deadlines in November and December. 

Lease sizes range from 16,321 to 54,610 square feet. Texas and California lead among the 41 states represented in the offering, with 46 and 21 Big Lots leases available, respectively.  

They’re followed by Florida, New Jersey and Ohio with 12 each; Indiana with 11; Nevada and New York with 10 each; Georgia with eight; Michigan and Pennsylvania with seven each; Arizona, Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, Oklahoma and Tennessee with six each; Louisiana and Virgina with five each; Alabama, Massachusetts, North Carolina and Washington with four each; Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, New Mexico and Wisconsin with three each; Colorado, Connecticut, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oregon, South Carolina and Utah with two each; and Delaware, Maine, Mississippi and West Virginia with one each. 

“As the company proceeds to facilitate the sale transaction, it will continue to assess its real estate portfolio, closing additional stores as needed to achieve its goals,” said A&G co-president Andy Graiser. “This process of portfolio-optimization is creating strong opportunities for retailers and landlords across the country. The availability of additional leases may be announced at a later date upon court approval.”  

McCraney Property Company has reached agreements on three leases totaling 695,560 square feet for Phase I of Logistics 16 at Ottawa Farms, a 1 million-square-foot, Class-A industrial campus in Savannah, Georgia. The industrial campus is now more than 50% leased prior to delivery. JLL’s Ryan Hoyt, Bennett Rudder, Chris Tomasulo and Lindsey Wilmot handle leasing for Logistics 16 at Ottawa Farms on behalf of McCraney.

The three new leases include Linemart Inc., an e-commerce fulfillment vendor, which will occupy all 232,000 square feet of Warehouse 200. Homylink Furniture Inc., a furniture distribution company, originally signed for 150,000 square feet, but needed to expand quickly and leased an additional 309,000 square feet at Warehouse 100. BFG Supply, a product distributor for the green industry, is taking 153,000 square feet in Warehouse 250.

McCraney Property Company secured $62.8 million in financing for Phase I of Logistics 16 at Ottawa Farms, located at 702 Bloomingdale Road. 

Rexford Industrial Realty completed lease-up of 500 Dupont Ave., located in Ontario in the Inland Empire – West submarket. The newly repositioned 274,885-square-foot building was leased to a third-party logistics (3PL) provider.

The value-add-repositioned project included overall building modernization, expansion of dock-high loading, upgraded ESFR fire sprinklers, new office construction and a new, secured container storage yard. The lease commences in October.

“Rexford Industrial’s strong execution and informational advantage across our vertically integrated, entrepreneurial team continue to deliver differentiated product providing the highest quality and functionality available within the infill Southern California market,” said co-CEOs Howard Schwimmer and Michael Frankel. “Looking forward, our strategic focus on value-creation will continue to favorably differentiate the Rexford Industrial portfolio and drive long-term shareholder value.”