Grand Central Commercial Real Estate: Leasing a Midtown East Office With a Broker
Leasing commercial real estate around Grand Central starts with three decisions made before any tour: how many people the office must hold, how they travel to work, and what the company can spend each month. With those settled, Nomad runs the Midtown East office space search for you. A broker reaches out within the hour during business hours, a first shortlist can be ready within 24 hours, and the tours fit in one afternoon. This page is written for a company of about 30 that is relocating or consolidating so its commuting staff can walk from the train, and the live block shows floors of that size.
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.
Run my Midtown East searchUpdated 2026-10-03 · Nomad Group
Three things to settle before touring Midtown East
- Headcount. Plan on 175 square feet a person, which puts a team of 30 at about 5,250 square feet. A company that will keep hiring through the lease usually takes 15 to 25 percent above that.
- The commute. Write down the home station of everyone who will work there. Staff on Metro-North or the Long Island Rail Road gain the most from the terminal, and the tally tells you how close to it the office has to be.
- Budget. Set a monthly figure for rent, then leave room for electricity, yearly escalations and the security deposit.
A company consolidating two offices should also decide whether everyone must sit on one floor.
The Midtown East search, from first call to a tour afternoon
Send the three answers through the start page. A broker reaches out within the hour during business hours to confirm the brief, and a first shortlist can be ready within 24 hours, with the size and asking rent of every floor on it.
We then walk the strongest candidates with you in one afternoon. Time the walk from the terminal to each lobby as you go. On the finalists we ask for a test fit, a quick plan showing whether 30 desks and the meeting rooms you need really fit. Landlord proposals reach you on one basis: what each floor costs over the whole term once free months and the improvement allowance are counted.
Who pays the broker on a Midtown East lease, and whom Nomad works for
In most transactions the landlord pays the broker fee, and the lease and the commission agreement settle it on each deal. A relocating company should still find out from its broker, whoever that is, what it would sign at the start and whether any cost could come back to the tenant.
On your search, we work for you. Nomad also offers agency leasing and owner representation, so some buildings are ones it markets for the landlord. Should one of them land on your shortlist, the firm would be on both sides. That is dual agency, and New York requires informed consent from tenant and owner alike. Ask us about any building on your list, and have your attorney confirm how consent is documented.
After a Midtown East lease: buildout and facilities from the same team
A signed lease is the midpoint of a relocation. Nomad's construction management group runs the design, the filings, the contractor and the furniture, and a custom buildout typically takes 10 to 16 weeks. Once you are in, facilities management keeps the office running. A company that prefers not to build can take a prebuilt floor and move in two to four weeks after signing.
Floors for about 30 people, near the terminal and beyond
The block below draws on the floors on our book that fit roughly 30 people, wherever they are in Manhattan, and shows a selection of them, so the ones beside the terminal may not be in view. Floors for 30 people near Grand Central keeps to the terminal's own, and the Grand Central hub lists everything we have there. The area in one line: towers on the avenues, smaller prewar floors on the side streets, and both railroads inside the terminal.
Floors that fit a team of 30
Live from our listings · 6 of the 22, smallest firstA team of 30 plans on about 5,250 square feet at 175 a person. 22 floors on our book sit in the range that fits, 5,250 to 9,450 square feet, asking $43 to $125 per square foot per year on the 21 with a published rent.
- Floors
- 22
- Sizes
- 5,250-9,000 sq ft
- Asking rent
- $43-$125 / sq ft
- 30 West 21st Street, Penthouse floor 5,250 sq ft $115/sq ft Flatiron about 30 people
- 213 West 35th Street, 10th Floor 5,250 sq ft $50/sq ft Penn Plaza about 30 people
- Empire State Building, Partial 43rd Floor 5,621 sq ft $90/sq ft NoMad about 32 people
- 60 East 42nd Street, Partial 13th Floor 5,772 sq ft $72/sq ft Grand Central about 33 people
- 32 Old Slip, Partial 32nd Floor 6,997 sq ft $64/sq ft FiDi about 40 people
- 520 Madison Avenue, Partial 21st Floor 7,092 sq ft $125/sq ft Midtown about 41 people
The full guide
This page is the short answer. The long one, with the numbers worked through, is here:
Related topics
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How close to the terminal does a commuting team need to be?
Within about three blocks if the goal is a walk with no subway. Farther out, the walk starts to give back what the location was chosen for. Time it from the platform to each lobby during the tour.
Should a relocating company look at Midtown's towers too?
If the team may pass 60 or so people during the lease, yes. Midtown proper has larger floors, and the terminal is still within reach from much of it. Midtown vs Grand Central compares the two hubs on current listings.
Do we need a lawyer as well as a broker?
Yes. The broker handles the commercial points, such as the rent, the length of the term, free months and the landlord's contribution to construction. The lease is a legal document, usually drafted by the landlord's attorney, and your own attorney should review it before you sign.
How far ahead of our lease expiry should the search begin?
Count backward from the day you must be out. First tour to desks is six to eight weeks on a prebuilt floor and four to six months with a custom buildout, and comparing offers takes time before that. Renew or relocate covers the choice if staying is an option.
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
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