The New York Knicks<\/b> and the San Antonio Spurs<\/b> weren\u2019t the only ones making moves in Manhattan\u2019s Penn District this week, as an artificial intelligence data firm tripled the size of its headquarters in a relocation to the neighborhood from one of Brooklyn\u2019s premiere office buildings.<\/p>\n
Altana<\/a><\/b>, which connects businesses with government agencies, signed a 10-year, 62,309-square-foot lease at Vornado Realty Trust<\/a><\/b>\u2019s Penn 2<\/b>, also known as 2 Pennsylvania Plaza<\/b>, according to the landlord. The deal represents a relocation for Altana from 20,874 square feet at Global Holdings<\/b>\u2019 25 Kent Avenue<\/b> in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where it first signed a deal in 2022<\/a>.<\/p>\n SEE ALSO: France\u2019s Junk Smash Burgers Enters U.S. With New Store in SoHo<\/a><\/p>\n Asking rent for Altana\u2019s new space on the entire 21st floor at Penn 2 was $125 per square foot, according to a source with knowledge of the deal.<\/p>\n \u201cOur mission is to fix globalization,\u201d Altana CEO and co-founder Evan Smith<\/b> said in a statement. \u201cPenn 2 sits at the center of one of the most connected hubs in the world \u2014 it\u2019s exactly the kind of place where that work should happen.\u201d<\/p>\n Sam Seiler<\/b> of CBRE<\/a><\/b> and Joseph Sipala<\/b> of JLL<\/a><\/b> represented Altana in the negotiations, but it\u2019s unclear who handled the deal on behalf of Vornado.<\/p>\n Seiler and Sipala, who represented Altana in its 2022 lease in Brooklyn when both were at JLL, declined to comment.<\/p>\n The AI firm\u2019s relocation was about being in the central business district of Manhattan rather than simply expanding in the outer boroughs as it scales its business, according to the source.<\/p>\n Founded in 2018, Altana is primarily a government contractor that works with agencies such as the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol <\/b>to enforce trade and economic security policies.<\/p>\n The deal means Penn 2 has managed to attract another major AI firm following last week\u2019s revelation <\/a>that Veeva Systems<\/a><\/b> signed a 62,000-square-foot lease on the entire 11th floor of the building.<\/p>\n