The video discusses the leasing trends of “marquee” office space, exemplified by as One Vanderbilt and Hudson Yards, and those of Class B or C buildings in Manhattan in the years since the pandemic.
In a segment from Bloomberg Television, Steven Durels, Executive Vice President and Director of Leasing and Real Property at SL Green, describes how One Vanderbilt’s “infrastructure, healthy work environment, and big amenity package” allows tenants to “operate their businesses the way they want to” in this post-pandemic world. The 42nd Street supertall also features a direct connection to Grand Central Terminal, allowing suburban workers to forego the typical “two-leg commute” involving an additional trip by subway. Durels says this is a huge asset in attracting businesses post-pandemic, now that professionals are more used to working from the comfort of their own homes.
While Class B and C office buildings continue to struggle to find tenants, success is “about providing a space that makes people want to work there, something One Vanderbilt was designed specifically to do,” says interviewer David Westin. “What really distinguishes the building are things like super high ceiling heights, column-free floors, and infrastructure that can support any kind of business,” says Durels, who points out that One Vanderbilt was already 60% leased when it opened in 2020 at the height of COVID, proving its appeal.
KPF-designed One Madison Avenue, which features at 10:45 in the video, is an example of the type of renovation that can reposition a Class B office building as a Class A product, in this case by adding a new steel core that supports a glass tower atop the existing base. This project, which opened in December 2024 and is already leased to tenants including IBM, Franklin Templeton, and Coinbase, may be a model for more Class B and C buildings in years to come.