Irene barely affects NYC commercial real estate industry

Now that Hurricane Irene has come and gone, commercial real estate firms across the city have been assessing the damage to their portfolio, and according to Crain’s, most have come away relatively unscathed.

For example, the city’s largest commercial landlord, SL Green, said there were only minor leaks across some of its 36 buildings. “We had nothing that even rises to the level of an insurance claim,” said Elizabeth Majkowski, senior vice president of operations at the firm.

At the city’s highest profile construction site, the World Trade Center, there was no damage to any of the 225 trees surrounding the memorial, and limited flooding in the basement of One World Trade Center, where construction has already resumed. Ultimately, New York City took all necessary precautions before the hurricane, which helped limit damage, according to Crain’s. As The Real Deal reported before the storm hit, experts felt the city’s skyskrapers were unlikely to be endangered by the wind and rain, although at least one architect consultant was concerned how flying debris might have affected the glass facade of newly built towers. [Crain’s]