Startup Office Leasing by Rail: What a Commercial Real Estate Broker Looks For

For startup office leasing, a commercial real estate broker turns a headcount, a date and a budget into a shortlist, runs the tours, compares what each landlord offers and negotiates the lease. When much of the team commutes by rail, one more line belongs in the brief: where people live. If the answer is Long Island or New Jersey, the search usually starts at Penn Plaza, where the Long Island Rail Road and NJ Transit arrive under the district. Every floor we list is in Manhattan, and Nomad is a licensed New York real estate broker with its own office at 276 Fifth Avenue, Suite 402.

Rather have a broker answer it for your team?Tell us team size and timing. A broker reaches out within the hour during business hours.

Send me the Penn Plaza floors

Updated 2026-10-03 · Nomad Group

Put the train line in the brief, next to headcount and budget

Most briefs list people, a date and a monthly number. For a team that rides commuter rail, add the stations people leave from each morning. An office a subway transfer away from the terminal adds a second leg to every trip, twice a day, for most of the staff. An office a short walk from the platform does not.

It matters most when the people choosing the office are on those trains themselves, and when the roles you find hardest to fill are held by people in the suburbs. Choosing an office neighborhood covers the wider decision.

What Penn Plaza gives a team on the LIRR or NJ Transit

Rail: the Long Island Rail Road and NJ Transit both arrive at Penn Station and Moynihan Train Hall, with Amtrak alongside.
Subway: the 1/2/3 and A/C/E run underneath, and Herald Square, a block east, adds the B/D/F/M, the N/Q/R/W and PATH.
Buildings: garment-era lofts with high ceilings, big windows and full floors, mixed with postwar office buildings.
Street level: plainer than Chelsea or NoMad, and quiet in the evening once the trains have left.

The block on this page shows the Penn Plaza floors we list and what each asks. The Penn Plaza guide describes the district at length.

What the broker does on a rail-commuting startup's lease

Builds a shortlist, here and in a second neighborhood for comparison.
Runs the tours: usually three to five floors, which fits in one afternoon.
Has an architect lay out the team on each finalist floor, a test fit, before any offer is made.
Asks the landlords for proposals and compares them on cost over the whole term.
Negotiates the letter of intent, then the lease, with your attorney reading the legal terms.

In most transactions the landlord pays the broker fee. On your search, we work for you. Nomad also offers agency leasing and owner representation, so ask us whether a Penn Plaza building you like is one the firm leases for its owner. Our brokerage page has the detail.

Lease terms a rail-commuting startup should read twice

The term: private floors lease for as little as 12 months, though 24 or 36 is the norm, and a short term costs more per square foot.
Escalations: roughly 2.5 to 3 percent a year.
Security: a deposit or a letter of credit, sized to the company's financials.
The guarantee: a good guy guarantee is standard in New York, and its entry in the glossary explains what it covers.
Assignment and sublet rights: the way out if the team outgrows the floor.

Have your attorney confirm each of these in the draft lease.

Penn Plaza office space available now

Live from our listings · cheapest first

3 offices are available in Penn Plaza right now, from 5,070 to 6,100 square feet, asking $50 to $135 per square foot per year. The Penn Plaza median is $52.

Floors: 3
Sizes: 5,070-6,100 sq ft
Asking rent: $50-$135 / sq ft
Median: $52 / sq ft

Everything available in Penn Plaza, with photos and rents →

The full guide

This page is the short answer. The long one, with the numbers worked through, is here:

Does Nomad have an office or listings on Long Island?

No. Every floor we list is in Manhattan, and our own office is at 276 Fifth Avenue, Suite 402. This page is for companies whose people commute into Manhattan by rail.

How early should a rail-commuting team start looking?

About two quarters before the date you need desks. A pre-built floor takes six to eight weeks from the first tour to the first day at desks, and a custom buildout takes four to six months. Starting early also leaves time to test the commute: have a few people ride in and walk to the finalists at rush hour.

Is Penn Plaza still the right call if half the team lives in the city?

It can be, because the 1/2/3 and A/C/E cover the west side and Herald Square is a block away. But tour a second neighborhood before deciding. A team split between the suburbs and the city should see both options in one afternoon and let the floors settle it.

What does the search cost a startup that commutes by train?

Usually nothing out of pocket. In most transactions the landlord pays the broker fee. A broker reaches out within the hour during business hours once you send a brief.

Talk to a broker

Want this answered for your team?

Tell us three things: team size, timing, budget. A first shortlist can be ready within 24 hours, with the asking rent on every floor that publishes one.

Within the houra broker reaches out during business hours, no automated triage
On your sidewe work for you on your search, and the landlord usually pays our fee
Open pricingasking rent published for 46 of 49 floors, size and address for all
300+ officesdelivered in New York, 2M+ sq ft leased

Or call 646-688-3158