NEW YORK CITY—Millennial employees are in high demand across all industries. They already make up a third of the US workforce. By 2025, millennials will comprise 75% of the workforce, and Manhattan companies are already competing to add the best of them to their talent pipeline. As companies seek to use their offices to attract and retain millennial talent, relocating to new, state-of-the-art space has become an increasingly attractive alternative to renewing and renovating existing workplaces.

In the past, Manhattan real estate decisions were based on the preferences of the C-suite. The commute from the suburbs tended to concentrate companies near Grand Central, Penn Station and Times Square. Workplaces were designed to benefit the top of a company's hierarchy, with senior executives in enclosed, perimeter offices with windows, and younger employees corralled in high-wall cubicles with little natural light and visibility. Pantries were hidden in dark, “back-of-the-house” obscure areas. Amenities were not part of the vernacular.

Now, human resources professionals are weighing in on real estate decisions in an effort to use office space and location as tools for attracting and retaining millennials, who prefer open space, natural light, amenities and neighborhoods with diverse and modern retail options.