In an effort to lure workers back to the office, developers have invested millions to create fitness centers, party spaces, golf ranges and even Michelin-starred restaurants. But Jeffrey Gural, one of the city’s biggest commercial landlords, noticed that a lot of these goodies go unused.
“I see a lot of empty amenities,” he said.
Gural began offering more than a year ago an amenity he’s confident office tenants actually want: Discounted child care. Anyone who works in one of his 57 buildings is eligible for 50% off tuition at a West Village preschool, Buckle My Shoe.
“It’s real savings,” said Gural, who said “a few” parents have signed up so far.
The uptake might be subdued because Gural said Buckle My Shoe’s tuition is about $30,000 a year, depending on how much time a child is signed up for. That means parents are still on the hook for around $15,000 in annual costs, which isn’t far below the average cost for child care according to state data. Buckle My Shoe, open to children from infancy through pre-K, describes itself as a Reggio Emilia-inspired play-based educational program.
Gural appears to be the first landlord in the city to offer tenants a preschool discount, according to Maya Kurien, vice president of advocacy at the Real Estate Board of New York, who described the benefit as “innovative” and “meaningful.”
Jodi Pulice, CEO of JRT Realty Group, said Gural’s child-care benefit could be a game-changer for working families. She hopes other commercial landlords will follow his lead.
“This I think will bring people back to the office,” she said.
Return-to-office is a top-of-mind topic again after President Donald Trump on Monday ordered federal agencies terminate remote work arrangements. JPMorgan and Amazon have also told workers to come to the office five days a week.
One reason parents work from home when they can is the difficulty of finding affordable child care. More than 80% of families with children under five years old cannot afford child care in New York City, according to a 2023 report by the Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York. In neighborhoods such as East Flatbush and East Tremont, 1% of families can afford child care, which on average costs $20,000 a year for children two or younger and $17,000 for ages three to five, according to the New York state Office of Children and Family Services.
In 2022, the Adams administration created a tax credit for landlords who convert vacant commercial property into child care centers. But the existing benefit, equal to $35 per square foot in Manhattan, is too small to nudge property owners to create more space, Kurien said.
“It doesn’t cover a fraction of what it costs to convert a space into a daycare,” she said, adding REBNY is petitioning for the tax break to be extended and expanded when it sunsets later this year.
A spokesman for the city Department of Finance, which administers the tax benefit, didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.
Gural created the preschool discount after concluding his mostly pre-war office buildings are too small to set aside space for gyms, restaurants and other new-fangled amenities. He offered a lower rent to Buckle My Shoe’s founder for space at 80 Eighth Ave., on the condition she accept discounted tuition from tenants at buildings owned by his firm, GFP Real Estate, which has nearly 14 million square feet of commercial space.
Another innovative perk from GFP is suites to New York Giants or Jets football games and concerts at MetLife Stadium. Gural, who operates the nearby New Meadowlands Racetrack, last year provided 90 Taylor Swift tickets to workers who received entries by showing up at the office.
