Bangkok_Dangeresque t1_j25wrlz wrote
Reply to comment by Wowzlul in Why New York State Insists That the Penn Station Area Is ‘Blighted’ by mowotlarx
>Places like Hudson Yards are just too "out of the way" at this point.
It's a 6 minute ride on the 7 from Grand Central, and 10 minute ride on the 7 from Port Authority, and 10 minute walk from Penn Station. It's really not that bad for commuters.
I think this is more about what you see when you compare the environs (in terms of high-rise office and residential) of Penn Station to Grand Central. It's underdeveloped for such a central point in the city's transit network.
Wowzlul t1_j260828 wrote
> It's really not that bad for commuters.
I'd have agreed with you in 2019, but have you heard how office workers talk these days? Seems like the vast majority are dead set against ever going to an office ever again unless it's an extremely convenient experience. Putting it directly next to Penn could help with that.
But I'm just speculating. The evidence may not bear that out.
Bangkok_Dangeresque t1_j262mcc wrote
I know plenty of people who work for anchor tenants in some of the Hudson Yards developments specifically. A few of them bought houses in the suburbs right before or during covid, and now commute into the office full time or on hybrid 2/3 day per week schedules. This comports with stats on office capacity approaching 40-50% of pre-pandemic levels.
When push came to shove, they may have disliked going back, but they're still doing it. Especially in the midst of layoffs (e.g. tech workers).
There's some paradoxical patterns here when it comes to companies investing in physical office space despite the big shifts to remote work. When you require a few days per week office attendance, you can get away with paying for a fraction of the square footage. The drop in aggregate demand means that the price falls, which may induce some companies that would have otherwise avoided getting any office space in Manhattan to consider it. Specifically when they can suddenly afford class A modern spaces. Real estate companies have dubbed this a "flight to quality", and is one of the only bright spots in the sector right now.
able2sv t1_j28n8ie wrote
Very interesting explanation, thanks!
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