A teacher\u2019s retirement benefits agency is putting down long-term roots in Manhattan\u2019s Financial District, Commercial Observer has learned.<\/p>\n
The New York City Board of Education Retirement Systems<\/b> (BERS) signed a 30-year, 78,079-square-foot direct lease to remain on the 50th floor of 55 Water Street<\/b>, a 52-story office building owned by Retirement Systems of Alabama<\/a><\/b>, according to landlord broker CBRE<\/a><\/b>.<\/p>\n SEE ALSO: Content Creation Platform Spotter Takes 17K SF at Thor\u2019s 25 West 39th Street<\/a><\/p>\n Asking rent for the building was not disclosed, but the average asking rent for office space in Lower Manhattan was $61.14 per square foot in May, according to an office market report from CBRE.<\/p>\n BERS originally subleased 53,000 square feet on the 50th floor of 55 Water Street in 2019 from foreign exchange brokerage FXCM<\/b>, in a deal that was set to expire in May, CO reported at the time<\/a>.<\/p>\n The expansion part of the new deal gives BERS a roughly 7,700-square-foot retail spot on the ground floor, according to CBRE. BERS came to occupy the remaining 17,000 square feet of space on the 50th floor at some point during its time as a subtenant.<\/p>\n \u201cWith the successful conclusion of this transaction, the building has executed approximately 275,000 square feet of leases over the past year and a half,\u201d CBRE\u2019s Brad Gerla<\/b>, who represented the landlord alongside Howard Fiddle<\/b>, Evan Haskell<\/b> and William Hooks<\/b>, said in a statement.<\/p>\n Marc Shapses<\/b> of Savills<\/a><\/b> negotiated on behalf of BERS but did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n Two of those deals at 55 Water Street mentioned by Gerla include financial services firm GFI Group<\/b> expanding to 64,993 square feet on the 11th floor in November 2025<\/a>, and transportation technology firm Verra Mobility<\/b> signing a 57,149-square-foot sublease from the Health Insurance Plan of Greater New York<\/b> in October 2025<\/a>.<\/p>\n