Nearby park space boosts office rents by 44 percent

The city’s commercial retail insiders sometimes bemoan required investment into nearby green spaces, but a new CBRE Group report cited by the Wall Street Journal show those short-term outlays pay off in the long-run. Office buildings that sit directly across from the recently improved Bryant Park, Madison Square Park, High Line, Hudson River Park and Battery Park command rents 44 percent higher than do similar properties nearby that lack park frontage.

The biggest disparity, according to the report, can be found around Bryant Park, where asking rents were 63 percent higher than they were in comparable Midtown Properties. Similarly, rents in buildings directly across Madison Square Park are 54 percent higher than in similar buildings just one block away. Around the High Line, the difference is 51 percent.

“What it means is that redeveloping these parks provides value to the city,” Pamela Murphy, a senior vice president of research at CBRE, told the Journal. “If you want to attract top talent to Manhattan, having something that adds to the quality of life of these workers is essential.” [WSJ] — Adam Fusfeld