Can’t afford a luxury condo? Well, maybe your office will at least look like one

It’s not enough for an office to just have a decent microwave and coffee maker anymore.

Landlords are now using luxury condos as inspiration to make their offices more appealing to tenants, including amenities like Miele brand convection ovens and faucets for still and sparkling water in their space, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Property owners hope these features make it less intimidating for companies to relocate and allow them to increase rents. And given how competitive the market is, this means that high-end touches such as LED lighting, huge pantries and fashionable counter tops have become more normal.

ABS Partners’ John Brod told the Journal they looked to Luxury Condo Projects Like 432 Park Avenue for their office building at 145 East 57th Street, spending about $140 per square foot on their $20 million improvement project.

“There are a lot of prebuilts and they all look alike,” Brod said. “We specifically set out to build a better product.”

Tenant improvement allowances at Manhattan’s Class A office towers are nearly three times pre-recession levels, according to a report by JLL. [WSJ] – Eddie Small