Discovery Channel leases 160,000 s/f at 850 Third.

Discovery Communications Inc. has signed a new 16-year lease for 150,940 square feet of office space at Equity Office's 850 Third Avenue Class A office building in Midtown.

The company plans to relocate 365 employees and its New York regional office from Lexington Avenue to 850 Third Avenue, and expand its office space by 30 percent. Discovery will occupy nearly five floors of the 563,000-square-foot building.

"We are excited to move our offices to the Third Avenue Corridor," said Pandit Wright, senior executive vice president of human resources and administration at DCI. "We were immediately attracted to the building's flexible 35,000-square-foot floor plates and solid infrastructure. We knew the space had the ability to accommodate the way we work and our needs for future growth."

Mitchell Konsker of Cushman & Wakefield and Willard Freeman of The Freeman Group represented Discovery in the transaction.

"This building provided our client with the flexibility to expand, the ability to develop a cohesive working environment, and access to more amenities," said Konsker. "In addition, the space featured state-of-the-art telecommunications infrastructure and a back-up generator system that will bode well for DCI's operations."

Brett Greenberg, managing director of Equity Office's New York Region and Paul Glickman along with David Glassman of Cushman & Wakefield represented the deal in-house. "We are pleased to welcome Discovery into our New York portfolio," said Greenberg. "Discovery's move to the Third Avenue Corridor is positive for the Midtown business community."

Located in the East side submarket of Midtown Manhattan on Third Avenue between 51st and 52nd Streets, 850 Third Avenue is a 21-story "wedding cake design" building of approximately 563,000 square feet, with basic floorplates of 38,000 s/f and tower floorplates of approximately 12,000 s/f.