midtown south

Midtown South: Manhattan's Economic Crystal Ball?

Midtown South: Manhattan's Economic Crystal Ball?
salim virji via flickr.

Midtown south, that region of heavily commercial Manhattan from roughly Houston Street to 42nd Street, may be the crystal ball for New York's financial health. It has a lot of the island’s cheapest office space; and, yet, that same space is emptying slowly as companies trickle out sans successors.

Midtown south’s scruffier buildings—think old Silicon Alley hangouts hastily rewired 15 years ago, groaning under the weights of sporadic upkeep and old infrastructure—have considerably lower rents than midtown’s gleaming towers: In September, the average midtown south asking rent was $52.86 a square foot, according to CB Richard Ellis; in midtown, it was $84.  read more »