While the current 19.6% availability rate for office space is worrisome for building owners, commercial leasing brokers and their tenants are smiling again.
For instance, 335 Madison, aka 22 Vanderbilt Ave., has an interior public atrium filled with restaurants and seating. The Seagram Building at 375 Park now has a basement dubbed the Playground, with a basketball court and rock climbing, as well as acting as a high-tech experience center for company activities.The vibrant and easily commutable area around Grand Central is now home to much of Manhattan’s most desirable and highly amenitized office space.
Amenities are also the primary draw in the Penn District and Hudson Yards. Vornado’s new Penn 2, which turns over to tenants in December, has access to the acclaimed amenities at Vornado’s Penn 1. But Plaza District tenants are in a bind if they need elbow room as the prime openings at 550 Madison Ave., the GM Building at 767 Fifth Ave. and 9 W. 57th St. are being gobbled up.
“They are coming to the end of a 10- to 15-year lease and have paid years of escalations so at that rent they can move to a higher-end building for the same or a lower cost,” explained Nicholas Markel, a vice president with Cresa. But while tenants are getting more for their money, they aren’t necessarily paying less. Rents average $74.54 per foot and trophies at $130 per foot, real estate firm Transwestern found.