The Empire State Building has joined the race to attract new commercial tenants who demand an amenitized building for the next generation of workers. In an announcement from Empire State Realty Trust, current owners of the iconic property, the building’s amenity offering will be expanded to include a town hall meeting space for up to 400 people, a basketball court, a lounge, food and bar service, and an additional lounge with two golf simulators.
The new amenities will be located on a lower-level concourse with vaulted ceilings and are expected to debut in 2023.
Rendering of the new tenant-only lounge at the Empire State Building – Courtesy of Empire State Realty Trust
Rendering of the new tenant-only basketball court at the Empire State Building – Courtesy of Empire State Realty Trust
Rendering of the new virtual golf room at the Empire State Building – Courtesy of Empire State Realty Trust
Rendering of the new townhall space at the Empire State Building – Courtesy of Empire State Realty Trust
Existing amenities at the building include a 15,000-square-foot fitness center and a private conference center. There are also seven in-building dining options, plus a new 23,000-square-foot Starbucks Reserve scheduled to open this year.
To help accelerate and improve leasing at the property, the owners have retained Newmark as the building’s leasing agent. Today, the tower has an average vacancy rate of 5.9 percent, compared to the 15.1 percent vacancy rate observed in competing top-tier office towers in New York City.
“Our partnership with Scott Klau and his team has been tremendously successful,” said Empire State Realty Trust chairman, president, and CEO Anthony E. Malkin. “Now with our large block availability, we offer a destination for all sizes of tenants in their flights to quality.”
Beyond tenant amenities, ownership has completed a series of facility upgrades and retrofits to improve the building’s energy performance and decrease its carbon emissions. A combination of energy-efficient heating, cooling, and lighting upgrades have chopped the building’s total emission by 54 percent, so far.
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I guess the only way to get workers back to the office is making the office more appealing than the workers’ homes. However, who wouldn’t want to work at the ESB in the first place?
I would. My father worked in the Empire State Building from ’44 to ’62, and I worked in the building from ’76 to ’78. It’s an iconic art deco building, with a magnificent lobby.
That must’ve been incredible.
“Lower-level concourse with vaulted ceilings” is real estate jargon for basement.
So, we’re talking the old Walgreens basement they gave up when they renovated and got that second floor/mezzanine level space? Possibly the basement of the restaurant on the corner of 34th and 5th?
Tenant only basketball court ?
On my “see again list” for next trip to NY! 🤗
So much money spent to attract businesses whose employees don’t even want to come to work.
Give me my own office (not open floor plan), a respectable bathroom (separate full-wall stalls with good ventilation and maybe some background music), on-site childcare, and maybe a decent convenience store, and i’ll happily come in every day. Dont need any of the crap they are doing in the ESB.
Say what you want, but this is the most iconic, recognizable building in all of New York.
Maybe the most iconic, recognizable building in the world.