What rapidly growing firm has not considered at one time or another the desirability of having offices in New York City? Not all make the move, but enough have done so to give New York City the most total office space of any U.S. city--some 4.5-million square feet. Although, in general, the vacancy rate tends to be low, it fluctuates with the economic cycle so that, for example, just after the "Great Recession" of 2008 was a favorable moment to seek a bargain on purchase or rent.

Certainly, rentals and sales in the city are high-priced—in some areas sky-high--compared with other cities. And so, the question, and budget calculation, always tends to be: Is it worth? Does the investment in real estate payoff. Can the growth in business and the lifestyle for our employees make the move worthwhile?

America's most populous city (including the five boroughs, not just Manhattan) speaks an estimated 800 languages, has a library (the New York Public) with 50 million books, has a bridge (the Brooklyn Bridge) 12 years older than the Tower of London, has the largest gold storage in the world in vault under the N.Y. Federal Reserve Bank, has 380,000 millionaires, invented the ice cream cone and Eggs Benedict, has Albert Einstein's brain and eyeballs stored in a box, and has no law against women going topless.

Top that, so to speak.

Business benefit of a NYC Office Space for Lease

No, what we are asking, when you cast an eye on New York City and imagine your new office space there is what the city offers your business. We know the cost will be high, so what are the comparable benefits? Almost all, when broadly considered, relate to size itself. The well-known effects of "urban density" are apparent everywhere. The country's single wealthiest metropolis makes possible (and necessary and affordable) a comparable wealth of transportation, cultural institutions, academic medical centers, international news organizations, America's publishing capital, world-class cuisine of every ethnic type, the country's largest airport system—actually, you name it, New York City has it.

To take a few particulars vital to a business's supply of workers, availability of professionals such as lawyers and accounts, flow of customers/sales, ease of shipping, and attraction to top talent:

Human capital:  Pulsing with the energy of almost 9.0-million people, with famous universities from Columbia to NYU to Fordham—and as a legendary magnet for the talented and ambitious worldwide--New York City has the human resources to match the needs of a startup, an international bank, a new manufacturing plant, or any professional or creative firm of any size.

Apart from resources of general higher education (and any calculation of that resource must include proximity of New England's premier colleges and universities), the city draws for the globe men and women seeking unbeatable specialized education in medicine, advertising and marketing, journalism, music and theater, architecture, and an infinity of others.

Given the density of Manhattan, many of a business's employees will live within walking distance of work—and be delighted with the new neighborhood and apartment. Otherwise, employers rely on the transportation that brings millions of commuters to work every day from the boroughs, Long Island, New Jersey, and Westchester.

Concentration of leading industries: No industry, or company, is an island. Its suppliers, service providers, shippers, marketing and advertising outlets, and customers are the arterial system that nourishes it. New York City arguably is the economic capital of the world, the most influential market anywhere and the most interconnected.

Most prime business sectors have large office complexes (and other facilities) in New York. From Wall Street to Madison Avenue can be found clusters of firms of world prominence in various industries. Foremost are finance, trade, healthcare, real estate, media, publishing, manufacturing, and information technology. Retail trade and education probably belong on this list; journalism merits mention within the broader class of media.

This intense concentration of certain pivotal industries exerts influence on a national and global scale. That should not be a surprise. If New York City were an independent, sovereign nation its economy would be the 15th largest on the globe.

Health care:  Among these industries, we should single out health care as an asset to any prospective business. More than half-a-million New Yorkers are employed in health care, among them 60,000 physicians. As a center for biomedical research and specialized medical services of every stripe, the city boasts 130 Nobel laureates in the medical arena alone. That is called a "concentration"!

Understandably, a business's employees, including top talent reaching their 50's and 60's, view availability of resources needed to stay healthy and active as a requirement, not a perk, of their employer's location.

Availability of finance: The investment capital centered in New York City, generating more than $1 trillion in value every year, does its work worldwide. But, with the NASDAQ and the New York Stock Exchange in Manhattan—and an almost endless roster of banking institutions (Bank of New York Mellon, Bank of American Merrill Lynch, and Bank of the United States, to name but three)—no business can get much sympathy complaining about lack of potential sources of new capital. Not only the size, but the sheer number, breadth, and variety of financial institutions make this world capital of finance the place to grow and leverage growth.

Information technology: Doubtless the dependence of a firm on information technology diverts its glance to California for a possible move or expansion, but if California has Silicon Valley, then Manhattan has Silicon Alley, home to both fresh and promising and already large digital media, data security, software development, and game design. Google stirred a brief political storm early this year when it arrived to occupy a 300,000 square-foot space in Manhattan. For several years, at least, venture capital over $2.0-billon for IT has been raised in the city.

Yes, manufacturing:  Some may not readily associate New York City with manufacturing as readily as with finance, say, or advertising. But at a time when manufacturing of goods is still emerging from a difficult period in much of America, producers are still operating in New York City. Among the areas of focus are processed foods, apparel, chemicals—to take but a few examples. Manufacturing, in fact, is a source of both jobs and growth for New York, not least boutique sector of manufacturing.

Transportation: With markets for firms of all sizes going increasingly global, shipping has become virtually synonymous with selling. If your business is in New York City, how will the goods move—and how easily? "On the ground," so to speak, the arrival and departure of goods from New York City is continuous, intense, and demanding of strong scheduling other logistics. But all the needed transportation is not only there, but there in abundance from among the world's most active international ports in New York and New Jersey, to one of the world's largest airport systems, to an elaborate network of bridges, tunnels, and ferries connected to the interstate highway system. On average, some nine million New Yorkers, not to mention businesses, receive several packages every week—a total of many millions of pickups and deliveries—and sending is on the same scale.

The Big Apple Bet

This overview of New York's overwhelming advantages for businesses at every stage of development leaves out far more—and more of the same breathtaking magnitude—as it includes. The greater the vitality and promise a business brings to the city, the more the city's resources will tell for the business's future.

To buy or rent office space in NYC AKA the Big Apple (a nickname that has resonated with New Yorkers ever since Mayor Ed Koch used it) is to risk investing in the unlimited potential for success.

Inescapably, it is a decision to shoot for the "big time." But hey, fella, that's New York!  

Be sure to check back with us, for all your information, insights, and updates on office sales and rentals in New York City. And don't hesitate to contact us if you need office space in NYC. Since 1995, we have assisted more than a quarter of a million businesses and are here with the help you need to obtain the best deal possible and avoid costly mistakes for your office in New York City or anywhere else in the US or Canada.