860 Broadway

Building Overview

860 Broadway offers one of Union Square’s most distinctive boutique office opportunities for tenants who want presence, history, and direct park access without committing to a much larger tower environment. Positioned at the corner of Broadway and East 17th Street, immediately beside Union Square, the building combines a highly visible address with the kind of smaller-scale identity that many creative, technology, design, and professional services firms value. The property is a six-story commercial building with approximately 75,800 square feet overall, with retail at the base and full-floor office suites on the upper levels. That layout is especially attractive for companies seeking stronger branding, better privacy, and the feel of a self-contained headquarters within Midtown South.

History and Architecture

Few Union Square office buildings offer the same mix of business utility and cultural relevance. 860 Broadway is also known as the Butler Building and was previously known as the Parish Building. Its origins date to the 1880s, and the structure was later refaced in 1925, creating the appearance tenants recognize today. The building was designed by architect Detlef Lienau in the neo-Grec style, and its upper floors are known for large windows overlooking Union Square Park. For office users, that architectural history is more than a footnote. It gives the building a character that is difficult to duplicate in newer construction and helps support a more memorable experience for both employees and visiting clients. The building is also closely associated with Andy Warhol’s Factory, which occupied the entire third floor beginning in 1974, reinforcing 860 Broadway’s long-standing appeal to image-conscious and creative tenants.

Office Environment

From a tenant perspective, 860 Broadway works best for firms that value identity, natural light, and neighborhood energy over anonymous scale. The upper office floors sit above an active retail base, while the building’s floor-by-floor configuration supports a more private, boutique occupancy profile than many larger Union Square assets. The property’s base includes roughly 20,000 square feet of multi-level retail space, with approximately 9,850 square feet on the ground floor and 9,400 square feet on the lower level, plus substantial wraparound frontage along Broadway. That strong retail presence enhances the building’s visibility and keeps the address active throughout the day. At the same time, the office component above benefits from the park-adjacent setting, large-format windows, and the kind of smaller-building atmosphere that often appeals to design firms, media companies, family offices, consultancies, boutique financial users, and founder-led businesses looking for a more individual address.

Location and Transportation

Location is one of the building’s biggest competitive advantages. 860 Broadway stands in the heart of Union Square, one of Manhattan’s most established live-work-play districts and one of the city’s strongest transit nodes. The Union Square station provides direct access to the 4, 5, 6, L, N, Q, R, and W lines, giving employees exceptionally convenient service from Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. The surrounding neighborhood also delivers the daily conveniences modern tenants actually use, including restaurants, coffee options, shopping, fitness, and the Union Square Greenmarket directly across the street. According to the marketing materials provided, the immediate area supports roughly 14,600 residents, 41,200 daytime occupants, median household income around $171,000 within a quarter-mile radius, about 10.8 million annual subway riders at Union Square, and approximately 29.4 million square feet of office space within a 10-minute walk. That concentration reinforces the location’s enduring relevance for both occupiers and investors.

Why Tenants Consider 860 Broadway

For companies evaluating Union Square office space, 860 Broadway stands out because it is not trying to be everything to everyone. It offers a highly recognizable corner address, authentic architectural character, full-floor office identity, immediate access to Union Square Park, and a location at the center of one of Manhattan’s most connected business districts. It also brings a level of cultural cachet that newer product cannot replicate, while still functioning as a practical office building for modern tenants. If your priority is a boutique Union Square building with history, visibility, strong transportation access, and distinctive upper-floor office space, 860 Broadway deserves serious consideration.