The rise of the uber-luxurious office

One Vanderbilt is a 93-storey skyscraper with a sparkling “hall of light” observatory at the top. (Image: Getty)

Tue, 06 Jun 2023

It is lunchtime at One Vanderbilt, a new office tower that juts out of midtown Manhattan. The building’s vast basement kitchen hums, as harried staff in chef’s whites leap in and out of swing doors. Upstairs, gourmet salads and soup are served in a lounge overlooking Grand Central Station; a sit-down restaurant offers foie gras, grilled scallops and other dishes from Daniel Boulud, a celebrity chef. There is not a soggy, al-desko sandwich in sight.Record high vacancy ratesAcross the rich world, the commercial-property indu...

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