Brooklyn Defender Services Inks Lease at Tishman’s The Wheeler

The Wheeler, Tishman Speyer’s office redevelopment in downtown Brooklyn, N.Y., has officially reached full occupancy following a massive new lease. Brooklyn Defender Services (BDS), a nonprofit organization that provides free legal representation, has finalized a 31-year agreement to occupy 212,000 square feet at 422 Fulton St. The organization’s new headquarters will span six full floors of the 10-story building.

While specific asking rents for the deal were not disclosed, market data from Colliers indicates that average rents for office space in Brooklyn stood at $54.85 per square foot during the first quarter of 2026.

Landlord leasing was managed in-house by Tishman Speyer’s Megan Sheehan alongside a CBRE brokerage team including Mary Ann Tighe, Joseph Cirone, Masha Dudelzak, Zachary Price and Gerry Miovski. The tenant was represented by Jonathan Franzel and Ryan Gessin of Newmark.

BDS joins an existing tenant roster that includes St. Francis College, which moved there in 2022, and Brooklyn Prospect, which secured a 150,000-square-foot lease last year for a high school campus.

“Signing this long-term lease marks a major investment in the future of our organization and the people who make this important work possible,” said Lisa Schreibersdorf, executive director of BDS. “These new headquarters will allow us to provide an inspiring, collaborative, and supportive environment for our staff, the people we serve and surrounding communities. This new space strengthens our ability to provide high-quality legal representation and the best possible outcomes for the people we serve for decades to come.”

“With its modern workspaces and highly accessible location in the heart of downtown Brooklyn, the Wheeler proved to be an ideal fit for BDS and its esteemed team of professionals,” said Chris Shehadeh, senior managing director at Tishman Speyer.

The BDS lease successfully concludes a long-term stabilization process for the asset, which sits atop a former Macy’s store. Tishman Speyer originally acquired the upper portion of the historic Fulton Street property — and the former site of the Abraham & Straus department store — from Macy’s in 2015 for $270 million. The developer then added 10 floors of office space while maintaining the building’s original cast-iron facade, marking its first major project in Brooklyn.

Even so, the property’s leasing history saw initial challenges: An early anchor lease with Whittle School & Studios fell through in 2020 due to the startup’s pandemic-related financial struggles. Since then, the building has filled in stages. Tishman Speyer reinforced the project’s financial footing in 2024 by securing a $301 million refinancing package from Starwood Property Trust.