Having already ceded some of its demand to recent upstart office markets like Midtown South and downtown Manhattan, Midtown East is the subject of a Department of City Planning review intending to probe whether it needs to incentivize commercial property upgrades in the area, Crain’s reported.
Midtown East has more than 70 million square feet of office space, 13 Fortune 500 companies and about 250,000 jobs. But few new office buildings have been built in the area of late, and the aging stock could become increasingly disadvantageous as tech firms play a larger role in the office leasing market. Crain’s said current regulations may be discouraging landlords from making improvements.
“We are working to understand whether government action is necessary to promote reinvestment in this vital area and make sure it continues to meet the needs of today and tomorrow,” a City Planning spokesperson said. Mayor Michael Bloomberg also emphasized using regulatory changes to boost investment in the area surrounding Grand Central Terminal in his State of the City address. [Crain's]
