Does anyone know which banks have really nice physical offices? Nice as in good amenities, high quality offices for senior guys, art on the walls, etc. I'm just wondering generally. I know many top law firms really invest in making the place nice, but this seems to be less of the case in banking.
I'm asking for both NYC and non NYC offices. Thanks.
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Peter J Solomon had a pretty nice office
Don't care how ugly the office is, I'd still rather be a banker than a lawyer.
Or almost anything in finance other than a lawyer
Why's that?
From my experience, it is pretty hit or miss. Some offices I have seen are very, very nice. They Well kept, bright, modern, just generally a very nice office. Others have been somewhat questionable. Not necessarily terrible, but not as well laid out, a bit older, not well decorated, a bit dark/grungy.
And as someone who has worked in offices at both end of the spectrum, it definitely makes a difference. The first place I worked was a bit of a hell hole, completely cluttered, things falling apart, and dark. The last place I worked, however, was bright, huge windows, clean, well kept, modern, an it made a huge difference in my general feeling about being at work.
Agree with LHDan. A well kept office with natural light makes a huge difference in mood for all employees. Looking out into a nice view serves as a nice 30 second breather during a stressful day.
I was at a meeting in the Purchase, NY MS office and it was a lot nicer than I imagined it would be. Especially the cubicle area.
Were you at the main HQ? Those oversized hallways are something else--originally designed so wide for Saudi entourages IIRC.
BAML's building is beautiful, in my opinion.
How common are on site gyms in NYC? Who has them? I'm on the west coast working for an NYC based bank, so none of the good stuff here. I have my own cube though, which is way better than a bullpen.
http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/which-bbs-have-a-gym-on-site-if-f…
Blackstone's offices are absolutely immaculate. Pristine; gorgeous dark wood, tasteful carpeting, open and airy with natural light from the expansive windows ... top-notch.
What does tasteful carpeting look like? Are we talking Persian rugs? Assuming bright pink isn't that savory?
full shag, with a few bear and tiger skins spread throughout.
I think its more the age of the building not the company. Companies work with what they have
ALL NYC OFFICES (can't comment on west coast)
Greenhill / Jefferies / BAML / GS / Moelis / Perella have very nice offices. Perella's location (GM building) is pretty sick in itself.
Offices that need some redecorating: Barc / MS / JP / CS / Citi (tho Citi's M&A floor is nicer than the other floors. Still though, needs improvement)
BAML, GS (however, the office is one large bullpen).
SAC Capital has a beautiful office in their HQ. During my visit, there was a basketball hoop made out of chandeliers.
I was told by HR that they are renovating a building in NY that will turn out to be pretty impressive.
is this the 330 madison building? It was just recently redone...cost like 100mm
BAML considering its brand new
Nicest office I have seen in Houston is Tudor Pickering. Very bright, new and comfortable.
PWP in London: Awesome. GS in Frankfurt: Awesome.
For NYC BB, definitely between UBS and JPM's 380 Madison office.
All lacquered wood floors and ceilings, impeccably polished floors, spacious hallways, fine art adorning the walls all over the office, and tables with statues and exhibits at the intersections. Beautifully elegant.
Isn't it not really fair to compare though... I mean Banks normally go to client sites for presentations or will have a really nice board room or something for things in house... I feel that isn't necessarily the case for Law Firms?
Just in general it isn't fair to compare
Filling in some gaps..
UBS: client facing areas are beautiful. Lobby is just stunning. Corporate art collection is quite well known. Banking floors are (obviously) not as well decorated, but well kept.
Evercore: reception, front areas, and main conference room are all nice. Rest of the office needs some TLC.
Barclays: Nice enough - everything is well kept. Haven't seen client-facing conference rooms, etc.
It's gotten to the point where people who are just getting 2-5 floors go for building prestige over actual amenities (i.e. 9W57th). Interiors and carpets can be changed, but windows and natural light can't. BAML takes the cake for their argon infused windows that require no tint but block UV. Barclay's Lehman building is nice too, although Times Square is a hassle. In Boston, I really like John Hancock now that the windows have stopped falling out.
9W57th view is stunning
BX is the best on the East Coast.
HLHZ is the best on the West Coast.
Gleacher has a nice office
Best office i saw was in the Middle East. It was the private family office of a sheikh, top floor with view of the whole city. All the secretaries were 10's, iltalian/french paintings, dark wood, iranian rugs etc.
Btw that reminds me, seeking startup capital for tugsonrugs.com, it's essentially seemless except we deliver models to your office for tug time...on a fucking nice ass rug.
Which sheikh / firm? I'm tired of working with all these fat uglies need a change of scenery. Preferably tan, slender with great T&A.
Target or non-target sheikh? What sheikhs are most prestigious?
HLHZ LA hands down
HLHZ's new office in LA is RIDICULES
GS Sky Lobby is very elegant, staircase looks like something out of inception. Barclays and Citi were kind of the same experience for me. Lazard is pretty sick.
Are there any office buildings in NYC or Chicago with lap pools?
In Chicago we are waiting for SA's and the snow to thaw but they'll be functional soon enough
I think we can agree that ALL investment banks like to spend the big bux on fancy shit.
/thread
stifel nicolaus weisel has some sick offices because thomas weisel is apparently obsessed with having the nicest environment. I heard their NYC office is the second most expensive by square foot and the SF office is beautiful
im not sure if Stifel has the office they do now as they did in 2013, but based on what ive seen their current office is definitely not the 2nd most expensive by sq ft in the city or even close to "nicest"
Probably true given comment was from 4 years ago.
I pine for the days when GS dominated the world from a total crap hole building.
I mostly liked the giant worn through hole in the carpet under my desk with frayed edges. We also occasionally had mice climb out from the holes in the floor where the electrical/telecom cables came out. That was always entertaining.
Barclays 200 Park and JPM 380 Madison
How senior do you have to be to actually get a nice office in NYC?
come on, nobody who's made it to the big leagues has a gag reflex anymore. Even if you started with one, it's gone by the 6 month mark
The research floors of 200 West blew me away.
John Thain spent over a million dollars on decorating his office. It included $1400 on a 'parchment waste can" which must have looked nice.
Barclays and MS in time square area are both really nice. UBS is nice as well. Citi offices in the fidi seemed pretty old and stuffy when I visited. Just my 2 cents.
Anyone know anything about GS TMT, MS tech, CS tech, Moelis LA, CS LA, GS LA, PWP Palo Alto, etc? All west coast groups. Also, elite boutiques out west like EVR, CV and GHL. I'm looking for specifics if possible.
GS SF has the nicest office in 555 California. They're on the 45th floor with incredible views of the bay. CS SF has a nice office too but I much preferred GS SF
You should go upstairs and check out the KKR office.
GS's building is the best IMO. Everything from the sky lounge to the banking floors are immaculate. I would say the trading floor is the nicest area though (each trader can control the airflow/AC to his own desk) and they are around 1.5 football fields long. And your ID works at every GS building (even Int'l).
BAML is 3rd tallest in NYC, and just a beautiful structure. UBS has a nice lobby. MS, JPM, and Citi are nice but they could be nicer.
How has no one mentioned Lazard yet? Reception on the 64th floor of 30 Rock, overlooking midtown - stunning. But yes GS/200 West still probably takes the cake, followed by BAAML
JPM and MS in London have amazing offices. Citi and BAML are really good too. JPMs dining lounge has a decent view too.
Definitely think BX and GS are tops in nyc
What's a bank with really nice non-"physical" offices?
GS, JPM and BAML have the nicest buildings I've seen. BAML's is brand new; JPM's is a little more spacious than BAML's though imo. The JPM AM building and the IB building (across the street from each other) are both really nice inside. Citi's is pretty nice but not as much as the others. It feels a little older. Barcap is ok. Evercore's offices aren't particularly awesome but they've renovated a little over the past year so it's gotten better. It just feels a little more cramped compared to the others. The bullpen isn't as wide open. UBS's office actually isn't that bad. CS Asset management building (dunno if IB is there too) seems a little old compared to the others but is pretty nice and the food in the cafeteria is dank.
Tbh though, all the legit banks have really nice offices.
BX is not a bank.
The inventory in Manhattan is old. The average age of each building is ~50-70 years old. I'm not saying that's terribly, terribly old but you are NOT paying for beauty or nice offices in Manhattan. You are paying for location. That's why 399 Park can push $120/SF rents on tenants at the moment (old Lehman building, google some pictures - it is not an "exceptional" building at all except for the address). It is in an amazing location, you really cannot get better than the plaza district when it comes to working in the city (center of it all).
Obviously OBP is an exception and not the norm as it was just developed, but even then it doesn't have these expansive floorplates like you guys are making it out to be. Extell, Related, Brookfield, Silverstein, etc all have spec devs going up too, but even all of this in aggregate is not enough to move the needle significantly (in terms of inventory age).
Contrast: Go check out the inventory in DC. Beautiful - a lot of the development and redevelopment going on there (BXP on the old NPR building for example). Stripping down exteriors of these old Reagan-era buildings (grey cinderblocks is their theme IMO) and replacing it with expansive glass exteriors, corner offices, etc. But here's the catch - you're in DC, not Manhattan. What you get in nicer offices you pay for in convenience - you are no longer at the center of the financial world. And that makes all the difference (if you are a financial services company).
Finally, the data needed to at least partially back up my above claims: http://astudentoftherealestategame.com/the-price-on-manhattan/
This is obviously all my opinion but I figured I would share my thoughts. Happy Easter everyone.
"I don't know a lot of real estate terminology. What do you mean by expansive floorplates? curious"
The footprint of the building.
Is anyone else having trouble with the 'Reply' function?
dupe
Freddie Mac actually has awesome HQ/OFFICE free coke products; awesome tech support ~6 huge building interconnected, ~3 cafeterias, they do the art collection thing, but never paid attention to it bc not interested in it and I can't remember how many parking garages, but it was a huge campus
BOA hq was pretty nice too I loved how they had shoeing area connected to it and it was an open atmosphere in the main lobby
1BP smells like ass, randomly throughout the day I guess due to all the "green building" organic shit they have running through the walls. Plus all that BofA, communist red on the walls makes me want to put my head through my monitor.
Tudor Pickering's office in Houston is pretty awesome for a smaller bank. Never seen so much Italian marble and granite in one space that wasn't a show room in my life.
Fortress's NYC office is pretty awesome as well. Second BX being bad to the bone.
But it's not. It's totally populist.
gs equity research has a really nice office in nyc.
Places with these sorts of amenities aren't called banks...
I think in London you would be hard pressed to find better offices than Rothschild in terms of art on the walls etc for obvious reasons. Particularly the 10th floor (the Directors room etc) it was truly stunning
Also, from what I've seen of the DB offices, they look quite nice too. Huge pieces of art work up in the lobby
well I have actually been inside, albeit briefly and granted they are not like that throughout but its still not a bad office I don't think...
Rothschild is better though
Rothschild's London office is really awesome: http://archrecord.construction.com/projects/portfolio/2012/06/New-Court-Rothschild-Bank-slideshow.asp?slide=10
Tudor Pickering probably has one of the nicest offices in Houston for a bank...Citi's is really awesome as well in the new BG Group building, even stock the analyst fridge w beer.
Lime Rock Partners has an office in Houston as well: http://www.rottetstudio.com/projects-c-lime-rock-partners.html
Blackmore Partners - Chicago
To say I've seen Chinese restaurants that are nicer would be a huge understatement
Well played sir.... well played
GS and BAML definitely have the nicest offices in Manhattan, of the BB banks. You can't really match the therapeutic power of having high ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows pouring light onto the banking floors.
The 280 Park Ave building looks like youre entering a MF (the enclosing white borders to symbolize establishment). Then theres the symbolic JPM building in NYC. Not the most eye candy, but when you look at the steel going across you know its is own..
Here's my take on the nicest I've been to:
Apollo - 9W57th. Insane views of central park, and crazy art. Pretty sure i remember there being a bust of Apollo that was literally from ancient Greece. Overall, the place was just class.
GTCR - 300 N LaSalle (Chicago). They on floor 53 or something like that with crazy views, building is incredibly nice and their lobby might be the best I've ever seen.
JPM Chicago - Chase Tower. Obviosuly, JPM has the run of the building here. Believe the conference rooms for clients are on 53, and the views are unreal. Extremely spacious up there as well. Cant speak on what the bullpen is like.
@00 West, was nice, but didn't really blow me away, maybe i wasn't on the right floors. OBP was pretty sweet as well, tons of natural light.
Looks like this thread has been revived from the dead. @Mr.Bateman William Blair deserves a shout nowadays, they just built a brand new building and from speaking with an analyst buddy of mine they have some amazing views right on the river. I'll see if he can send me a photo if he is free.
Good call. Believe there's another bank there as well but cant put my finger on it.
All I can say is Piper's HQ in Minneapolis is basically a giant shitbox.
Lazard. It has the penthouse (commercial tenant-wise) of 30 Rock and like 12 floors beneath that... Nothing really more iconic. The shops at Solow are pretty dope, too.
I personally found it odd to be in a work building where there are so many tourists and random people all the time. Also, the office space that Laz has for junior guys isn't great being honest, and the building could use some work/amenities.
OBP is really nice, probably the nicest building in terms of modern amenities, space, etc. The IB floors are particularly nice too, with quality wood and plenty of space. I like how high the ceilings are, and some of the earthy tones around the common spaces are cool. Great views from the client floors too.
200 west is nice, and I like that it's downtown instead of midtown. The murals are cool, but it's actually pretty cramped and not really a fan of how they arrange the workspaces. Candidly, their back office building is nicer.
JPM, Citi are ehh - they're circa 80's/90's and feel like it. But they get the job done. Barclays Lehman building is pretty nice and feels very iconic. Floors are alright if a few years dated. I fucking despise the MS building, mostly because of the cesspool around it, but also because it just feels lacking in character, space, everything really.
If anyone has ever been to BainCap's offices in the Hancock in Boston, they are fucking unbelievable. Think they're actually nicer than BX's NY offices. Wood everywhere, ridiculously unobstructed views (which you can't really get in NY because of the skyline), tons of space. Carlyle's DC office is also heavily underrated in my opinion.
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