Politico reports:
In Times Square and the rest of midtown Manhattan, the office buildings that once fueled much of the area’s activity are still well below pre-pandemic occupancy. Only 28 percent of Manhattan office workers had returned to their desks as of late October, according to a survey from a prominent business consortium, the Partnership for New York City, and just 8 percent were back five days a week. A commanding majority of employers — 80 percent — said they expected a permanent change in their remote work policies, the survey said, while a third anticipated they would need less office space in the next five years.
There's more:
The upshot is that some commercial space will likely be left vacant long term — at the same time major cities like New York are struggling with a lack of affordable apartments. That has led real estate groups, urbanists, market experts and others to consider whether Covid has created an opportunity to reinvent areas like midtown Manhattan, particularly with new housing. The idea is not without logistical and political challenges, but proponents say it could help breathe new life into areas emptied out by the pandemic.
Square footage is square footage...
