Quote:
Originally Posted by BrownTown
Well look, I get that some clients want a fancy looking building and all, but I also don't like the idea that it's MY money paying for it through all sorts of fees on every financial product known to man. I'm not sure who exactly the occupants of this building would be, but I think it's entirely fair to ask why an OFFICE building needs to be so opulent. If it's a residential buildings then fine, but if I see my bank spending such outrageous prices for floorspace I might just switch banks because clearly those guys are taking me to the cleaners if they can afford all that.
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Some office tenants do indeed pay a premium for "trophy towers", but for the same reasons that some firms pay more for class-A vs class-B space.
TD Bank has a financial (fiduciary) responsibility to it's shareholders to maximize value. TD may have rightly justified this lease by saying that the office layout, it's location in the heart of midtown, and it's proximity to a major transit hub, are all ways that they can improve performance.
Bear in mind that 1 Vanderbilt isn't even the priciest office in the city. They could have spent more for arguably worse office space (the GM building, for example).
Think of it this way: $20 in extra fees helped you, personally, by allowing for the construction of a beautiful super tall in the heart of the city