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Met Tower: Creating Five-Star Hotel Experiences in Office Buildings
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The return-to-office policies have settled, but the real challenge has just begun. As companies bring employees back to their desks, the question isn't whether people will return—it's whether they'll want to stay. The office buildings succeeding in this new era aren't necessarily those with the best locations or lowest rents, but rather those who approach office spaces with a hospitality mindset. Michael Kirchmann understood this shift before most developers even recognized the opportunity.
As co-founder and CEO of GDSNY, Michael transformed the Met Tower from 20% to 84% leased in 15 months. His strategy includes offering a premium experience at $85-90 per square foot (versus $220+ for new Plaza District towers), hiring former Four Seasons concierges as building staff, and creating amenities like members-only clubs. This approach recognizes that employers now use office environments as recruitment and retention tools, making design quality a competitive necessity rather than a luxury.
Beyond development, GDSNY operates GDS Brightstar, a lending platform that combines their construction and leasing expertise, creating unique opportunities to underwrite office deals that traditional lenders avoid. As both borrower and lender, they can identify promising assets and provide rescue capital, construction finance, and workout solutions. Their hands-on approach has saved borrowers tens of millions in construction costs by leveraging existing contractor relationships, making them valuable partners when deals need creative restructuring.
Episode Outline
(01:54) Growing up in a real estate family and the path from architecture to development
(03:31) European development experience with SOM and Howard Ronson
(09:15) GDSNY's mission of creating exceptional real estate through design differentiation
(14:40) Assessment of Met Tower's condition and repositioning potential
(19:12) Creating hospitality-inspired office experiences and targeting new tenant types
(27:37) Walking through the transformed tenant experience from street to suite
(31:02) Real estate debt market opportunities and GDSNY's lending platform
(38:17) Key elements of successful loan workouts and preventing problems through relationships
Additional Resources
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