All About Nomad and Leasing Office Space in the Vibrant Neighborhood

The name NoMad means North of Madison Square Park, which refers to the location of the buzzy Manhattan neighborhood. It's a relatively small area with boundaries stretching from 25th to 30th Street and Sixth Avenue to Lexington Ave. The corridor along Broadway is the heart of NoMad, with its many boutiques, hotels, and restaurants. A new one seems to be popping up every few weeks. 

Unlike most other parts of Broadway in Manhattan, Broadway between 27th and 25th is a pedestrian-only zone and closed to vehicular traffic, although watch for bicycles and the occasional scooter whizzing up and down the bike lane. 

HISTORIC TIDBITS ABOUT NOMAD

NoMad has a unique history. From 1890 to 1925, it was home to the original Madison Square Garden on Madison Ave at East 26th Street. It hosted boxing matches, Barnum and Ringling circuses, a political convention, musical performances, and the salacious French Ball, which Timothy J. Gilfloyle describes in his book City of Eros as the most scandalous place to be in New York.

At 1153 Broadway, a pioneering movie house known at the time as a kinetoscope parlor showcased Thomas Edison's hand-cranked films, representing a nascent moment in cinema history. People would wander off the streets and watch short movies produced on a continuous loop of film. Unlike today's movie experience where the audience sits in front of a large screen, moviegoers in the late 1800s would view these films one at a time through a small peephole viewer. The industry has advanced a long way to get to 70mm IMAX films and Dolby Atmos audio technology. 

No historical description of NoMad would be complete without mentioning Tin Pan Alley. Today, as you walk past swanky hotels like the Ritz-Carlton and The Ned NoMad, it's hard to imagine that at the turn of the 19th Century, West 28th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues was the epicenter of the American music publishing industry. Legend has it that you would hear a cacophony of pianos banging away in various offices as you walked down the street, sounding to some like banging on pots and pans. Hence the name. 

Fast forward to the early 2000s when retail wholesalers occupied most of the storefronts in NoMad, selling items in bulk, such as Spandex, hats, suitcases, and random knickknacks. It wasn't exactly a welcoming area as these stores were generally closed to the public—not that many people would care to enter anyway. 

Over the past decade, the neighborhood has undergone a significant transformation, perhaps more than any other neighborhood in Manhattan. The wholesale shops are disappearing, giving way to boutiques, gelato shops, barbers, and restaurants. Hotels and condominiums are popping up left and right. NoMad is now a thriving live-work neighborhood, attracting tourists, residents, and office workers alike. 

TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES FIND OFFICE SPACE TO THE NORTH

For tech companies, Union Square and the Flatiron District are the neighborhoods most associated with office space in NYC. Apple is there. Microsoft. And many others. But, as office prices increased in the early 2010s, many tech startups looking for office space chose to cross 23rd Street in favor of better lease rates in NoMad. 

Office prices in NoMad have increased since then, but comparatively speaking, companies are still likely to find cheaper office rents in NoMad compared to the Flatiron District and Union Square. 

WANT TO LEASE OFFICE SPACE IN NOMAD? CONSIDER THIS.

Most of the office buildings in NoMad are loft buildings built in the 1920s and 1930s. These buildings typically have large open workspaces with a few columns, high ceilings, wood or concrete floors, and big windows. The lobbies tend to be on the smaller side, some renovated, some not. 

Many NoMad office buildings, especially those on side streets, are perfect for mid-sized companies with 30-40 employees. It's common to find a full-floor office space that is roughly 5,000 square feet. In neighborhoods like Midtown or the Garment District, there are fewer full-floor offices for lease around this size because the buildings tend to be larger. 

There are many benefits when you rent a full floor space. One thing that might not immediately come to mind is that the loss factor for office space on a full floor is smaller than on a divided floor, so you'll get more bang for your buck. 

What are the benefits of renting an entire floor in an office building?

• Identity - Renting a full-floor office allows a company to customize its branding and signage to reflect its corporate identity. When the elevator doors open, your reception area is right in front of you with your company logo emblazoned overhead. Leasing a full-floor office is an opportunity to create a positive first impression for clients and might even give employees a sense of pride. 

• Privacy - When a company occupies a private floor in an office building, there aren't employees from other companies milling about. It's just your team, so you don't have to look over your shoulder when talking about your new AI prototype that's going to change the world. 

• Security - Security goes hand in hand with privacy. When a company has a full-floor office, security measures can be more tightly controlled, ensuring access is restricted to authorized personnel only. Also, you can restrict access to your floor by locking the elevator. So, if a solicitor wants to pay you an unexpected visit—say, like a pushy real estate broker itching to lease office space—they won't be able to simply show up at your doorstep. 

• Noise - When you rent a full-floor office, you don't have any shared walls with another company. It could be distracting to hear your neighbor's CEO getting their team fired up during a company pep talk. This morning, will they be blasting "Eye of the Tiger" or recreating Decaprio's motivational speech from The Wolf of Wall Street? ("Let me tell you a little secret about these telephones. They're not going to dial themselves!")

• Light - We rarely meet a company that doesn't value natural light. A full-floor office inherently has more windows compared to a divided floor. Consider a typical rectangular floor plan of an office building with windows along each exterior wall on all 4 sides. Partitioning the same floor into multiple office spaces means fewer windows for each company, creating windowless internal space and lessening the amount of natural light each office space receives. 

• Loss Factor - As mentioned above, the loss factor for a full-floor office space is lower than that for a divided floor with multiple companies. A low loss factor is a good thing because there is more usable space and less "lost" space. Why is there more usable space on a full-floor office? There are several reasons. One is because there are no shared/common hallways. The area that would be a hallway on a divided floor is part of your office on an entire floor. The same goes for the bathrooms, typically in the hallway on a divided floor, but part of your usable square footage (i.e., in your space) when you rent an entire floor.

OFFICE TOUR IN NOMAD

Let me take you on a typical office tour: You start by walking into a somewhat modest lobby. There is a doorman and two passenger elevators. You take the elevator up, the doors open directly into the office, and a small reception area greets you. Looking past reception is the rest of the office. Along the front side of the floor are a conference room and two or three glass-fronted offices. There is a spacious open workspace with desks for around 30 people. Additionally, there would be a spacious kitchen, perhaps with a sitting area, a couple of break-out rooms, and two private bathrooms. 

A few buildings, like The St. James Building at 1133 Broadway, were explicitly built as showrooms and office space. Completed in 1898 and designed by architect Bruce Price in the Renaissance Revival style, the 12-story building showcases numerous details of the Gilded Age, such as intricately carved stonework, ornate cornices, and decorative friezes. With a total square footage of around 190,000 square feet, the building always has a few offices available. Most offices in The St. James range between 1,000-2,500 square feet. Various types of companies lease office space in the building, from architects and interior designers to advertising and public relations, to name just a few.

Another interesting building in NoMad is 276 Fifth Ave, formerly known as the Holland House. Built as a 350-room hotel in 1892, it has a limestone facade in the style of the Italian Renaissance, emphasizing proportion, symmetry, and balance. The hotel had ornate suites and modern conveniences, such as the Herzog Teleseme, an early form of room service technology. The building has long since been converted into an office building with private suites ranging from 1,500 square feet to full floors as large as 12,000 square feet. 

NEED HELP FINDING A NOMAD OFFICE SPACE FOR YOUR COMPANY?

Navigating the world of commercial real estate in New York can be daunting, especially for busy executives or team members who have another job to do. That's where we come in. From C-suite leaders to founders and key decision-makers, we've assisted countless companies in securing their NYC office space.

Beyond simply finding an office space | We excel in negotiating lease terms, often securing office subleases at significantly reduced rates. We understand that business needs change, so we also offer support in terminating existing leases by providing strategic advice and practical steps for a smooth downsizing process, should that be necessary.

There are thousands of office brokers in NYC. What sets us apart? Unlike large brokerage firms that represent landlords, we are entirely independent. This allows us to negotiate aggressively on your behalf—without any conflicts of interest—to secure the best deal possible. We'll give you clear, honest advice that empowers you to make informed decisions, free from any pressure or hidden agendas.

Allow us to be your company's trusted real estate expert to help you find office space in NYC—a space that not only houses your company but fuels its success. Email us your office space requirements, and we'll get back to you with some options.