In the summer of 2022, the office tower at 787 Seventh Avenue, spanning 1.7 million square feet, had an occupancy rate of less than 20%. However, recent developments show a significant improvement in the building’s occupancy. According to Howard Fiddle, the leasing agent for 787 Seventh, the building is now “mostly full except on Fridays,” with tenants like BNP Paribas, Sidley Austin, and Willkie Farr bringing back their employees midweek. This positive trend is also confirmed by Eric Ripert, chef-owner of Le Bernardin, a renowned restaurant located on the ground floor of 787. The Real Estate Board of New York’s upcoming Manhattan Office Building Visitation Report further supports these findings.
The report challenges the prevailing notion that current occupancy rates are based on pre-pandemic levels. It clarifies that full recovery should not be defined as 100% occupancy since offices prior to COVID-19 were typically occupied at 80% of their total capacity for approximately four days a week. During the pandemic, office attendance plummeted to less than 10% but has since rebounded, albeit not to pre-pandemic levels.
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