Collins' focus is office space, whereas Eychner focuses on multifamily housing deals, but Eychner explains one is tied to the other. Eychner notes that as greater numbers return to living in the city, and families are staying, he says a significant segment of the work force is living in central business districts now.
"The city is absolutely the place to be," Eychner comments. "We remember Village of the Damned and the cover of Time with the picture of the rotting apple. People were running to the suburbs then, but that trend was seven, eight years ago. Families are apartment hunting here now. People want family-size units and often when there's a vacancy, the neighbors take it for expansion."
Collins also highlights the importance of proximity to the workforce. Collins says, "Here you have the human capital factor. Companies are going to keep their office space here because they can find their staff here. It's not that simple to replicate what you have here in the suburbs."
Unemployment rates are also a factor, Collins explains, and currently there is a "lack of unemployment." He adds, "The lack of unemployment is no better in the suburbs, and so there's an even smaller pool there."
Acknowledging that many investment bankers, lawyers, etc. do live out in the suburbs, he notes, "If a company is located in Midtown and its employees come in from Long Island and Connecticut on the LIRR and Metro North, they come in to Penn Station and Grand Central and then take a subway to work. Now, to tell them they have to make their way to New Jersey, for example, they're going to look for something else in Manhattan."
Not only are employees considering their commutes, Collins adds, but also the prestige of their business address. "Many professionals expect to do business in New York. This is a magnet city," he says. "Their clients have their own offices here."
Firms may have an office in the suburbs, Collins concludes, "but they'll keep their flagship here. With rare exception, the only moves to the suburbs, which really are episodic, rather than a trend, are of back-office space. What you miss relocating to the suburbs is yield."
Eychner also says as retired people return to the city, choosing the vast array of social and intellectual attractions and organizations over, "no offense, but the malls and golf courses of Sarasota, Florida," services will need to be here. Estate-planning attorneys, advocacy groups, etc. will all need office space.
The increasing number of projects such as Village Nursing Home's new 100-unit senior citizen apartments, 46th and 10th, reflect the city's appeal, according to Eychner. This rental multifamily housing-style building meets the needs of people who do not need assisted living facilities, but are interested in ADA compliant and maintenance-free living.
So, according to Collins and Eychner the CBD is alive and kicking. The suburbs are out for business and housing and the trend is to raise a family, work and retire here.
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