Corporate Musical Chairs Could Hurt Midtown

Midtown Manhattan has seen its share of corporate move-outs of late.

NEW YORK CITY—Corporate relocations out of Midtown to the west and southern section of the city as well as the movement by some major businesses to new construction projects Downtown or on the Far West Side could spell trouble in the years to come for Midtown property owners.

A newly released report by Newmark Grubb Knight Frank entitled “NYC New Trends” focuses on the potential issues facing Midtown with the prospect of numerous large blocks of space that have become or will become available in the not too distant future.

“There are at least 12 previously built Class A buildings (in Midtown) that already are, or in the next five years will become, more than 75% vacant due to relocations west and south,” the report states. “While commercial real estate is a constant game of musical chairs, the significant movement to new construction is a different variable, last seen in abundance during the 1980s.”