The thriller tenant who signed a record office lease at 9 West 57th Road is a Mexican billionaire who’s presently relationship Emma Watson.
Gonzalo Hevia Baillères is the grandson of the late businessman Alberto Baillères González — often known as the “King of Silver” for his huge mining empire. He was Mexico’s fourth-richest individual when he died in 2022 with a internet price of $8.5 billion.
Gonzalo, 28, is the founding father of Lok, an AI logistics firm. His holding firm, HBeyond, signed the document $327.50-per-square-foot lease at Soloviev Group’s 9 West.
“HBeyond is a multinational holding firm which operates throughout enterprise capital, private and non-private markets, in addition to the creation of recent companies,” Soloviev Group mentioned. “At present, it has a robust emphasis on US-based innovation in AI and expertise.”
Along with his enterprise pursuits, Gonzalo has been within the highlight just lately because of his relationship with Watson. Pictures of the 2 have been splashed throughout Instagram and Web page Six.
HBeyond’s document lease raised the bar for Manhattan’s workplace market as high-quality buildings proceed to see strong demand.
“The value speaks for itself,” Stefan Soloviev mentioned in a press release final week.
HBeyond’s 10-year deal covers 5,063 sq. ft on the northwest nook of 9 West’s fiftieth ground, which presents the perfect views of Central Park.
The earlier record-holder was SL Inexperienced’s One Vanderbilt, which in 2022 signed a 9,871 square-foot deal exceeding $300 per sq. foot on its highest workplace ground with the Canadian waste administration firm GFL Environmental.
Rents above $300 a foot are nonetheless extraordinarily uncommon a decade after L&L Holdings first broke that mark in 2015 when Ken Griffin’s Citadel paid that value for the penthouse portion of its 200,000-square-foot house at 425 Park Avenue. However they’re changing into extra widespread.
Manhattan recorded one such lease final 12 months when SL Inexperienced signed the infrastructure service supplier Kyndryl to a $305 per sq. foot deal for six,300 sq. ft at One Vanderbilt.
However the market could possibly be headed extra towards that course. Offers for earlier value boundaries that have been as soon as regarded as distinctive — resembling $100 and $200 a foot — are actually rather more commonplace.
New York noticed a document 313 leases beginning at $100 per sq. foot or extra in 2025, up from 2024’s document of 212 leases, based on JLL’s annual report of top-of-market offers. There have been 28 offers at $200 per sq. foot or greater, together with six offers above $250.
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