853 Broadway

Overview

853 Broadway office space delivers one of the strongest tenant propositions in Union Square: a highly visible address at Broadway and East 14th Street, direct access to the neighborhood’s transit hub, and floor plates that are large enough for identity and efficiency without forcing a company into oversized occupancy. Current leasing materials consistently describe the property as a 21-story office building at the foot of Union Square, and public records characterize it as an office property with commercial space at the base. For tenants comparing Midtown South options, that combination matters: the building reads as established, prominent, and operationally practical from the moment a client or employee arrives.

Building Profile

Public sources describe the building at different measurement standards, which is common in Manhattan office marketing. The owner’s fact sheet lists roughly 130,972 rentable square feet, leasing databases commonly market it at about 157,000 square feet, LoopNet lists 173,752 square feet, and city tax records show 218,953 total square feet. Read together, those figures place 853 Broadway in the sweet spot for firms that want a real Union Square presence without stepping into a superblock-scale tower. LoopNet also lists a typical floor plate of about 7,687 square feet, 10-foot unfinished ceiling heights, and 15-by-25-foot column spacing, all of which support efficient planning for full-floor headquarters, high-density layouts, or a more design-forward prebuilt installation.

Design and History

The existing building is a late-1920s Emery Roth design and an unusually pure commercial Art Deco work from an architect better known for major New York apartment houses. Village Preservation dates the current tower to 1927 and notes that it was developed for the Broadway and Fourteenth Development Corporation, owned by the Roosevelt family, on a site previously associated with Cornelius Van Schaak Roosevelt. The same preservation record describes buff-brick façades, paired windows between piers, characteristic upper-story setbacks shaped by the 1916 Zoning Law, and lower floors later modernized with a glass curtain-wall treatment. Owner marketing and later leasing sources add that the structure is a concrete-encased steel building with a brick-masonry exterior, which helps explain why the property still feels historically grounded even after modernization at the base.

Workplace Experience

For office users, 853 Broadway’s appeal is not just its corner presence but the way the building has been repositioned for contemporary tenancy. Feil’s leasing materials and multiple listing platforms describe a dramatic new lobby and entry sequence, a five-level floor-to-ceiling glass façade, a concierge desk, upgraded elevators, and renovated bathrooms. Those improvements are meaningful because they solve the biggest issue many tenants have with older Manhattan stock: strong bones but inconsistent arrival experience. Here, tenants get both. Public listings also show a recent pattern of spaces that fit real operating needs, including one active 7,997-square-foot office, a marketed 8,815-RSF opportunity, and broader public availability ranges from roughly 4,896 to 13,766 square feet. That range makes the building especially attractive to growing firms that want a full-floor identity, better natural light, and the option to scale in place.

Location and Leasing Context

What pushes 853 Broadway office space onto serious tenant shortlists is the complete Union Square package around it. Union Square Partnership says the Union Square/14th Street station is the third-largest transportation hub in New York City, with eight subway lines converging at the park and more than 35 million annual travelers. That kind of connectivity broadens hiring reach across Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and beyond, while the immediate neighborhood adds the daily-use amenities tenants now expect from a modern office location. Leasing activity also shows the building continues to resonate with growth-oriented occupiers: LoopMe took 7,897 square feet in 2023, Casa Komos signed for 10,268 square feet in 2024, Nourish and Lepercq de Neuflize added 15,126 square feet in 2025, and Perplexity expanded across the adjoining 841-853 Broadway properties to 22,000 square feet in 2026. For a company seeking Union Square office space with brand presence, flexible floor plates, established ownership, and a location employees will actually use, 853 Broadway remains one of the neighborhood’s most balanced choices.