As an Executive Managing Director of commercial leasing for Newmark, Matthew T. Leon has spearheaded and coordinated the leasing, marketing and branding of more than 6 million square feet of commercial space. Since beginning his real estate career in 1994 as a transactional real estate attorney, Leon has been actively involved in the representation of tenants and owners in a myriad of capacities.
Leon is an accomplished tenant advisor utilizing transactional skills refined over a 28-year real estate career to represent tenants across all business lines. Select recent clients include Culturespaces; Citizens Committee for Children; Endeavor; ENT & Allergy Associates; Frieze Art; Frontier Communications; GameChange Solar; Greystone & Company; Lehrer & Cumming; the United Nations University; Turnaround for Children; and WME-IMG. Leon has consummated lease transactions on behalf of tenants totaling in excess of 2.5 million square feet.
Leon has exclusively represented owners of numerous prestigious buildings in New York City, including Aegis, Aion Partners, Boston Properties, Cohen Brothers, Garden Homes, GE Capital, JEMB Realty, Levin Management, Rockrose Development Corp., Rosemark, Shorenstein Realty, and TF Cornerstone.
As the lead member of the leasing and marketing team for Carnegie Hall Tower (152 W. 57th Street), Leon has maintained the tower as a preeminent trophy asset boasting occupancy rates of 95% or more across multiple market cycles. In the past several years, Leon in partnership with ownership initiated a creative space program partnered with market leading amenities that has augmented the building’s tenancies, attracting leading technology, media and lifestyle businesses to the building’s unparalleled financial services, law and family offices.
In 2018, Leon successfully completed the full repositioning and lease-up of the entire 215,000-square-foot 387 Park Avenue South in concert with a large-scale modernization, attracting leading Fintech companies to this 27th Street Class A building.
In 2020, Leon was awarded the Most Impactful Deal of the Year by the Real Estate Board of New York for bringing Immersive Art to a City Hall landmarked building.
Prior to joining Newmark initially as Senior Counsel, Leon was an Associate at the New York-based international law firm of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, where he worked in the real estate practice group.
Professional Affiliations
Leon is a member of the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) and YM/WREA and is admitted to practice before the New York, New Jersey, Southern and Eastern District Bars.
Education
Leon earned his Juris Doctor degree from Brooklyn Law School and a Bachelor’s degree the University of Michigan, where he was the recipient of Dean’s Honors and the LBJ Congressional Internship Scholarship.