The investment sales, leasing and advisory firm CPEX Real Estate is doubling its office space in a move set for Friday to a new location in Downtown Brooklyn, the company told The Real Deal.
The firm, headed by managing partners Timothy King and Brian Leary, is moving its headquarters to 8,000 square feet at 81 Willoughby Street, between Lawrence and Bridge streets from about 4,000 square feet at 350 Livingston Street, about six blocks apart.
“Willoughby Street puts us in the heart of Downtown Brooklyn. There are more amenities and better transportation. It puts us kind of in the belly of the beast,” King said.
The company signed a five-year lease (with a five-year option) that included several months of free rent, and work by the landlord Midtown Management, King said. The asking rent was $20 per square foot, data from CoStar Group shows. King would not disclose the actual rent or the specific terms of the deal.
The company has 24 brokers and agents, figures from the state’s Department of State database of licensed real estate professionals shows. In addition to the agents, the firm has about 10 professionals waiting to get their licenses, 15 full-time support staff and about 15 to 20 interns, King said.
“The growth over the last few quarters have been consistent and I think it will continue,” King said, explaining why they have room for as many as 68 desks.
While the agents are based in the Brooklyn headquarters, set to close Friday after the company moves out, the firm also has a satellite space in Lower Manhattan and another satellite location in East Rutherford, N.J. King and Leary, both former Massey Knakal Realty Services agents, founded CPEX in 2008.
CPEX needs to leave 350 Livingston Street not only to expand its own office, but also because Steiner Studios bought the building as part of a development site, and plans to demolish it. — Adam Pincus