Most Desirable Office Spots in Each Major Downtown (real estate, apartment)

[MINresident]

I know COVID may change some of this with work from home but for each of the major downtowns, can people let me know where the desirable office space (general location) is. And by office space, I mean more the area of the city, not specific buildings. I would think the following would drive prices and desirability:
1) Availability of Class A buildings in the area
2) Proximity to Retail
3) Proximity to other office buildings
4) Proximity to restaurants
5) Proximity to Public Transportation

I think some are easier for me to understand. In Minneapolis, near Nicollet Mall is the obvious "prestige" spot because the bus routes, light rail, restaurants, and shopping are all near Nicollet Mall.

Some cities are harder though. For instance, in New York, is it desirable to be on Park Avenue near GCS? Is the area near Penn actually more desirable (Hudson Yards)? Or is being near Central Park the spot to be even if further from the transportation hubs? If I was a NY metro worker, I would think right near GCS on Park would be the spot. But I'm curious how companies would pick in a perfect world (ie assuming availability in each part of Manhattan). And I think it would be a big deal in choosing a company. For instance, all things equal, If I'm a Metro North commuter from CT vs a NYC resident, that proximity to GCS may matter.

Similarly, in Chicago, is it River North near the shopping, the Loop closer to the Michigan Avenue, or the Loop right by Union Station the spot to be? It seems a lot of the newer construction has congregated on Wacker near Union Station. Perhaps they are playing to the commuters even though there isn't a lot of food near that area.

I've always wondered what the hot spots are in major cities and I imagine the five factors I mentioned are the drivers. But its interesting to wonder what matters more and how that plays out for each city.

Downtowns I'm Interested in:
- NY
- Chicago
- Boston
- DC
- LA
- SF
- Seattle
- Atlanta
- Philly
- Dallas
- Houston
- Denver
- any others...

[BigCity76]

For NYC it depends where you're coming from. If you're talking Midtown then you'd rather be closer to Penn or Port Authority if you're commuting in from NJ everyday which are both on the West Side. And Long Islanders want to be close to Penn as well as that's the main hub for LI and NJ train commuters. Although that's going to change soon with the the new LIRR terminal they're building at Grand Central.

If you're from Westchester or CT then you'd rather be closer to Grand Central which is on the East Side.

For downtown (financial district), NJ has the PATH train which is super convenient.

[MINresident]

Originally Posted by BigCity76

For NYC it depends where you're coming from. If you're talking Midtown then you'd rather be closer to Penn or Port Authority if you're commuting in from NJ everyday which are both on the West Side. And Long Islanders want to be close to Penn as well as that's the main hub for LI and NJ train commuters. Although that's going to change soon with the the new LIRR terminal they're building at Grand Central.

If you're from Westchester or CT then you'd rather be closer to Grand Central which is on the East Side.

For downtown (financial district), NJ has the PATH train which is super convenient.

so that aside, what is the prestige area of Manhattan Commercial Real Estate? My gut is still that it is the area between Times Square & Grand Central in Midtown. In other words, Metlife building is the theoretical "perfect" spot. The area near Penn seems desolate / sketchier in comparison especially near PABT. Lower Manhattan seems too quiet.

Also, I wonder how much people pick their place of employment based on commute. I would think its a factor but that ultimately working at your ideal company might be worth an extra 15-20 minute walk through Manhattan.

[BigCity76]

Originally Posted by MINresident

so that aside, what is the prestige area of Manhattan Commercial Real Estate? My gut is still that it is the area between Times Square & Grand Central in Midtown. In other words, Metlife building is the theoretical "perfect" spot. The area near Penn seems desolate / sketchier in comparison especially near PABT. Lower Manhattan seems too quiet.

Also, I wonder how much people pick their place of employment based on commute. I would think its a factor but that ultimately working at your ideal company might be worth an extra 15-20 minute walk through Manhattan.

My first job out of school 20+ years ago was in the MetLife Building aka 200 Park Ave. Yes that is a great spot. Grand Central is a beautiful edifice (Thank you Jackie O).

The prestigious spot for Commercial Real Estate (and I sold technology to hedge funds and big banks who take up many of these spaces) was always 42nd to 59th from 3rd Ave (East Side) all the way over to 8th Ave now (West Side). So yes, you're right on Times Square as the Western boundary but on the East Side it goes further past GCS to 3rd Ave.

That's the traditional prime Commercial RE district but that's changed over the last decade with Google taking over the Meatpacking district and now with major corporate America moving into Hudson Yards.

[Mr. Bigglesworth]

Paper football baby, I'm always a winner Westborough, MA

[the resident09]

You may want to check out Colliers 2021 Qtr 2 report:

https://www.colliers.com/en/research...apshot-q2-2021

[inthepurple]

Originally Posted by MINresident

so that aside, what is the prestige area of Manhattan Commercial Real Estate? My gut is still that it is the area between Times Square & Grand Central in Midtown. In other words, Metlife building is the theoretical "perfect" spot. The area near Penn seems desolate / sketchier in comparison especially near PABT. Lower Manhattan seems too quiet.

Also, I wonder how much people pick their place of employment based on commute. I would think its a factor but that ultimately working at your ideal company might be worth an extra 15-20 minute walk through Manhattan.

There really isn’t a single prestige area for offices in Manhattan, and both downtown and in midtown you’ll find that on the same block as high class firms of whatever sort, there are also offices belonging to sketchy employment agencies and “we buy gold, broken iPhones and gift cards” type of businesses. That said, the area with a lot of commercial and office space that feels and looks the nicest is on the East Side, between 34th (maybe 23rd, but it’s more residential over there and there are also a few blocks in the high 20s around 1st and 2nd Ave that aren’t so great, because there are a few methadone clinics, homeless shelters and mental health facilities over there, close to Bellevue, Beth Israel and the VA) and 59th, Madison Avenue and the River.

[mhays25]

Some common elements often help define these spots. For example:
--Good transit
--Close freeway access
--Lots of housing within a reasonable stroll, vs. being deep in an office-only area
--Strong retail, often including the core retail district
--Good hotels
--Night activity such as performance halls
--A flat walk to the important things vs. being too hilly
--Few visible homeless, which might be tied to building management (a nuanced issue I won't get into here)
--A lack of street crime, related to another set of complex factors

Seattle's sweetest spot from this perspective would include complexes like Union Square, Rainier Square, and US Bank Centre. Some of this is within an 11-acre area that was a UW campus in the 1800s, and is still managed under their ownership, called the Metropolitan Tract.

[MINresident]

Anybody with thoughts on Downtown Chicago / River North?

[missionhill]

Boston's traditional downtown between State Street and South Station remains desirable because the subway and commuter rail lines serve that area best. The retail scene there is sparse but good enough for office workers needing to pick something up. The courts, city state and federal offices are all nearby, so it's good for the law firms. The waterfront and the new Rose Kennedy greenway enhance the area. Still, it would be hard to say downtown is more desirable than Back Bay, where the office space is nestled in a prestige shopping and residential district. Seaport--along the South Boston waterfront adjacent to downtown--may be most desirable these days. They haven't quite worked out the transportation in and out but the area is burgeoning with restaurants and shops and luxury residential units among the office buildings, with the waterfront being the big draw.

In New York, for sure GCT is the major anchor and has been since the post-war era, when downtown Manhattan faded as a prime office district. The prime area is from GCT north to 59th Street and across to Seventh Ave. Park Avenue was created by GCT--they electrified the railroad so the avenue could be decked over as far north as 96th Street--and Park thereafter became the prime residential address. Over time, the offices tend to follow the fashionable residences in many cities, and so after WW II, the apartment buildings along Park from Grand Central to 59th Street were replaced with office buildings and the major banks like Chemical and Chase Manhattan relocated their HQs to Park Avenue. The Pan Am building (now Met Life) is a centerpiece of all that development, sitting astride the avenue and visible from north and south. Penn Station is not and never has been a competitor as far as prime offices goes. The area is a tad grungy.

Chicago may be similar-- the traditional downtown is the loop, served by the major railroad stations and the El, but the fashionable residential zone is across the river and has drawn fancy office buildings and the higher end stores since the Tribune Tower and the Wrigley Building went up 100 or so years ago.

In Philadelphia, Ed Bacon and the postwar planners engineered a new prime office district west of City Hall by tearing down the Penna Railroad's Broad Street station and "Chinese wall" of tracks and replacing it with boxy modernist office buildings. More recently some very tall buildings with jazzy crowns have gone up. It's still the prime office area over South Broad Street or Washington Square, which have offices left over from earlier eras.