NoMad vs Union Square: Office Space Compared

The $26, and how much of it is real

NoMad's median is $62 per square foot per year, Union Square's $88, a 29% difference. Against the $75 median across the 49 floors we represent citywide, NoMad sits $13 under and Union Square $13 over, so these two markets straddle the middle of our book.

The Union Square figure deserves a warning label. Three floors are available there and only two carry an asking rent, $60 at 29 West 17th Street and $115 at 900 Broadway, so the median is the average of two numbers. The third, 13,754 square feet at 836 Broadway, would move it once a rent is published. NoMad's median rests on firmer ground: four floors asking $57, $62, $62 and $90.

The spread inside NoMad is wider than the gap between the markets, which is the fact most tenants miss. 22 West 27th Street's entire 7th floor asks $57 for 6,000 square feet, about $28,500 a month and roughly 34 desks. The Empire State Building's partial 43rd asks $90 for 5,621, about $42,158 and roughly 32 desks. Nearly the same team, $13,658 a month apart, both in NoMad. Choosing the submarket settles less than choosing the floor.

What each book holds, and who fits

NoMad's four floors run 5,621 to 12,500 square feet, roughly 32 to 71 desks. Union Square's three run 2,500 to 13,754, roughly 14 to 79, with nothing at all between 23 desks and 79. One market is a continuous range, the other a barbell.

• 14 to 23 people: Union Square alone. 29 West 17th Street's partial 7th, 2,500 square feet at $60 and about $12,500 a month, furnished, wired and plug and play on a sublease through September 2027. Or 900 Broadway's Suite 202, 4,000 square feet at $115 and about $38,333 a month.
• 32 to 34: NoMad, where the choice is finish level rather than district. The Empire State Building prebuilt at $90 comes with six windowed offices, two conference rooms and open workspace for 18, and is eligible for the owner's turnkey architecture, furniture and IT program. 22 West 27th Street at $57 comes as a floor, and $13,658 a month is the price of not drawing it yourself.
• Around 54: NoMad, at 1235 Broadway's entire 4th floor, 9,500 square feet at $62 and about $49,083 a month, furnished and wired, with exposed ceilings and a wraparound window line.
• Around 71: NoMad again, at 1239 Broadway's entire 12th, 12,500 square feet at $62 and about $64,583 a month, with polished concrete and new linear lighting, described by ownership as built for 75 to 80.
• Around 79: Union Square's 836 Broadway, the largest floor in this comparison and the only one without a published rent. That number has to be asked for.

Getting there

NoMad's service is N/R/W, 6, F/M at 23rd and 28th. Union Square's is 4/5/6, N/Q/R/W and the L, all at 14th Street. The overlap is real, since the N, R, W and 6 serve both, so this is one of the few submarket pairs where a commute rarely changes much.

Union Square adds the 4/5 express, the Q and the L to that shared set, which widens the number of people who reach the door without a transfer. NoMad's list is shorter, but its stations sit at 23rd and 28th, so the walk from the train tends to be the short part of the day.

For most teams this is the least decisive section on the page, and where it ties the money should decide.

Our recommendation, by tenant type

Under 20 people and moving fast: Union Square, at 29 West 17th Street. $12,500 a month, furnished and wired, on a sublease term through September 2027. It is the cheapest way onto either book and the shortest commitment on it.

A team of about 23 that needs a permanent address and sees clients: 900 Broadway at $115, about $38,333 a month for 4,000 square feet. That is well above the $75 citywide median and above every NoMad floor, so the case is location and finish rather than arithmetic. Say it out loud before signing.

30 to 35 people: NoMad, and then a real decision inside it. With a design budget and four months, take 22 West 27th Street at $57 and build the floor you want. With neither, the Empire State Building prebuilt at $90 hands you six offices and two conference rooms on day one.

50 to 75 people: NoMad, with no second market to consider. 1235 Broadway at 9,500 square feet and 1239 Broadway at 12,500 both ask $62, both carry walkthrough tours, and one afternoon settles it. Union Square offers nothing between 23 desks and 79.

Right around 79: 836 Broadway is the only floor that size on either book, and until a rent is published it is a conversation rather than a comparison.

The practical next step

Seven floors, two markets a short walk apart, one afternoon. Ask for a test fit at real headcount first, because these footages are rentable and rentable in New York includes space no tenant lays out.

At the 15-25% loss factors common here, 9,500 rentable square feet at 1235 Broadway leave roughly 7,125 to 8,075 usable, so $62 becomes about $73 to $83 per usable foot and the 175 square feet per person allowance quietly becomes 131 to 149. Run it on 900 Broadway's 4,000 feet as well, where $115 becomes about $135 to $153.

Then compare the deals, not the asks. Electric is billed on top at $2 to $4 a foot, escalations run off a base year, and free rent, an improvement allowance, the letter of credit and the good guy guarantee routinely move the effective number by more than the $26 separating these medians. A sublease like 29 West 17th trades allowance and term for speed and price, the right trade for some companies and the wrong one for anybody still here in 2029.