Office Brokers, Owners Call an End to New York’s Return-to-Office Era

Office Brokers, Owners Call an End to New York’s Return-to-Office Era
By Larry Getlen 

November 15, 2024

The market has picked up enough to change the narrative from will tenants want space to what kind of space they’ll want, per a Commercial Observer forum…The forum took place Nov. 13 at The Durst Organization’s 825 Third Avenue…“Amenities are always one of two things tenants are asking for. The biggest thing that’s changed is location,” said Rotter. “For people wanting to be near Penn Station or Grand Central, in new developments, it’s very hard to find space in those buildings…While top-shelf amenities are top of mind in the office realm, Christina Chiu, president of Empire State Realty Trust, noted that flight-to-quality expectations are no longer coming solely from Class A tenants. “Tenants want the best quality they can get at any price point,” said Chiu…Chiu noted that this expectation actively extends to the financial health of the building’s owner, which needs to be Class A even if the building is not…Commercial Observer’s Gross…asked New York City Department of City Planning Director Dan Garodnick to share some of the weirdest provisions he’s seen within the city’s zoning codes. “When we were looking at our last proposal on economic opportunity, a lot of rules were laughably outdated,” said Garodnick. “We saw protections, incentives or provisions for typewriter repair shops, model car hobby shops and airline ticketing offices, with a definition for their use and where they can be located in New York City.” But, while these outdated provisions stuck out, the zoning was just as notable for what it was missing.