As a result, large employers like Condé Nast and JPMorgan Chase have relinquished chunks of office space, contributing to nearly 19 percent of Manhattan offices being available for rent, according to Newmark, a real estate services firm, nearly double the average rate over the last decade.
About 28 percent of office workers in the New York City region, which includes parts of New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania, had returned to the office as of last week, more than double the rate from a few months ago, according to Kastle Systems, a security company that tracks employee card swipes in office buildings. The nationwide average was 33.6 percent, Kastle said.
Kate Lister, the president of Global Workplace Analytics, a consulting firm advising companies on their return-to-office policies, said that hybrid work would remain a permanent feature of work culture after the pandemic.
Office space is not going to disappear, but, Ms. Lister added, “The total space will come down.”
Still, elected officials in New York sought to cast Google’s announcement as a sign of the city’s rebound.
“This announcement from Google is yet another proof point that New York’s economy is recovering and rebuilding,” Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, said in a statement. “We are creating jobs, investing in emerging industries, lifting up New Yorkers, and together, we are writing our comeback story.”
Mayor Bill de Blasio called the deal “a historic investment in New York City.” The transaction was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
When the St. John’s building opens after construction is finished in mid-2023, Google will have more than 3.1 million square feet of office space in New York, making it one of the largest leaseholders in the city.