Young & Rubicam opened its doors at 285 Madison Avenue in the 1920s.
Now, the agency that helped define the term “Madison Avenue” is planning a move to Columbus Circle (between Broadway and Eighth Avenue and 57th and 58th Streets).
According to Stuart Elliott of the Times, Y&R is signing a 20-year lease for 10 floors with about 350,000 square feet of space at 3 Columbus Circle, formerly known as 1775 Broadway.
The lease will give Y&R ownership of most of the new space as well as the right to place its name on the 26-floor building.
The primary reason to leave Y&R’s longtime home is to find space that is more appropriate for a 21st-century business, said David Sable, who became chief executive at Y&R in February. “285 Madison is not a suitable building for us and probably hasn’t been for a number of years.”