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Performance Gap Widens Between Class A and B Downtown Manhattan Offices
Cushman & Wakefield sees a growing divide in Downtown Manhattan’s office market, where demand for top-tier, amenitized buildings is driving an increasingly pronounced gap in both performance and pricing across asset classes.
According to the report, since 2020, 73% of the downtown leasing activity was concentrated among Class A buildings, with Class B and lower-tier assets experiencing declining demand, longer marketing periods and reduced tour activity. At the same time, Class A’s rent premium over Class B space was 25.5% as of the first quarter of 2026, a more than 11% increase in the asking rent gap between the asset classes since mid-2024.
“Downtown’s office market is continuing to evolve into a distinctly bifurcated landscape, where the highest-quality assets are capturing the overwhelming share of demand and pricing power,” said Maddie Askeland, data specialist at Cushman & Wakefield. “What’s notable is that this divide is no longer just about the building quality or the amenity offerings. It is increasingly evident in the rent gap, which we expect will continue to widen as the year progresses.”
Pictured: The future 2 World Trade Center, which will be occupied by American Express. Rendering credit Foster + Partners.
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