Because the space is needed. The speed at which a market moves is not a measure of its size nor its supply/demand balance.
Commercial real estate vacancy rate in Manhattan right now is quite low compared to historical trends - don't let the stories of megatall commercial projects fool you. Cost per square foot has been rising steadily throughout Manhattan and is now actually quite high.
New buildings always take a lot of time to fully lease out due to structural inefficiencies and the more constricted customer base - the Empire State Building wasn't profitable for decades after it opened. This doesn't mean that the office space isn't needed.
There are a lot fewer commercial renters, but they occupy a lot more space for a lot more time. Your typical New Yorker isn't, for example, renting a 30,000 square foot space on a 10-year lease.
That's my point. If this is the case, why do they keep building office buildings when the city actually needs apartment buildings?
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