Dive Brief:

• A study by the New York City Independent Budget Office finds that New York will need about 52 million square feet of new office space by 2040.
• Mayor Michael Bloomberg has made an optimistic prediction of more than 80 million square feet.
• A city council member whose district has one of several currently approved projects asked for the study.

Dive Insight:

No one will ever say Michael Bloomberg is not a New York booster, but the more sober-minded study puts the need for new office space at anywhere from 30 million to 87 million square feet. The report said that making predictions three decades out is a risky business, noting that financial companies that used to have a big appetite for flashy, classy new spaces are not a power anymore and high-tech companies like funky renovated buildings more than glassy, splashy towers.