It’s clear that technology firms have flocked to Midtown South to be close to their industry counterparts, but Crain’s noted that how such firms choose their specific space is not so clear. Thanks to the varying size, focus and age of tech firms it’s practically impossible to predict where they’ll choose space.
Landlords, including Jamestown Properties, whose Chelsea Market has been particularly successful in attracting technology tenants, say the most important thing is the “aura” of the property. Tech companies prefer a building with character that’s close to good restaurants and bars and doesn’t have any trace of corporate America.
Crain’s said that three landlords have recently developed or upgraded their properties specifically with tech tenants in mind. Kushner Companies, for one, added a roof garden with a putting green, ping pong tables and reflecting ponds to 200 Lafayette Street to mimic a Silicon Valley style campus. JCPenney recently inked a deal to take the office space in the building.
Meanwhile, at 100 Fifth Avenue the Kaufman Organization added a sleek lobby and a new telecommunication system to add tenants suchas as Apple and Yelp.com, and the Albanese Organization is developing 510 West 22nd Street with lounges, breakout rooms and outdoor gardens to land tech firms when the building is complete. [Crain’s]