Most Landlords Get Office Design Wrong – Rod Kritsberg – RFP 64

In this episode of The Real Finds Podcast, host Gordon Lamphere welcomes Rod Kritsberg, managing partner of KPG Funds and the creative force behind some of New York City’s most iconic boutique office redevelopments. From adaptive reuse to zoning loopholes, Rod takes us behind the scenes of his team’s bold bet on high-end office space design, at a time when many landlords have given up on the asset class.

Rod doesn’t pull punches. According to him, “most landlords are still building for a tenant that no longer exists.” Instead of sprawling, anonymous office towers, KPG specializes in ultra-designed, vertically-integrated boutique buildings in Manhattan neighborhoods like SoHo, West Village, and the Flower District. These are places where tenants actually want to be, but where legacy assets are often neglected, outdated, or misaligned with demand.

This episode dives deep into the development and investment strategies behind these assets. Rod explains why location and build quality are the only amenities that matter, and how his firm repositions century-old buildings into institutional-grade office properties with hotel-quality finishes, operable windows, high ceilings, and design-forward details that speak to post-COVID sensibilities.

From walking buildings in hazmat suits during the pandemic, to lobbying the Landmarks Preservation Commission for façade changes, to taking calculated risks on spec redevelopment, Rod offers a candid look at the risks, rewards, and creative hustle behind some of NYC’s most forward-thinking office projects.

If you care about urban redevelopment, tenant demand, capital stacks, or what it really takes to win office leasing in 2025 and beyond, this conversation is your cheat code.

Key Topics Covered:

• Rod’s Origin Story
  From apartment rentals to institutional boutique office—how Rod transitioned into development, what he learned early on, and why he’s never looked back.

• The 132 West 14th Street Playbook
  Rod breaks down the design, branding, and leasing strategy behind this successful repositioning effort—and why it’s a prototype for future boutique redevelopments.

• Why Most Office Amenities Are “BS”
  Rod calls out common landlord misfires: lounges that nobody uses, roof decks that never open, and “amenity packages” that don’t match tenant behavior.

• What Tenants Really Want Today
  High ceilings. Beautiful lobbies. Natural light. Operable windows. Flexible layouts. Shorter commutes. And no nonsense. Rod explains how to design for that reality.

• The True Economics of Boutique Office
  How capital stacks are structured, why KPG often builds on spec, and how to get banks and LPs aligned on higher-risk, higher-quality projects.

• Zoning Secrets and Land Use Arbitrage
  NYC’s zoning map is broken—and that’s a good thing. Rod reveals how his team identifies mis-zoned parcels and legacy restrictions that create outsized upside.

• Design Details That Drive Leasing
  From custom glass doors to hotel-grade kitchens and matte black elevator banks, Rod explains how intentional design closes leases faster—and at premium rents.

• COVID-Era Chaos
  Building tours in hazmat suits, material delays, broker ghosting—Rod shares the real-time decisions that shaped his firm’s COVID-era strategy and how they paid off.

• Landmarking, Bureaucracy, and Political Navigation
  Working around NYC’s landmark rules isn’t easy, but it’s not impossible. Rod offers advice on handling legacy overlays, DOB red tape, and local resistance.

• Advice to Young CRE Professionals
  Rod shares hard-won lessons on rejection, persistence, sales psychology, and how to create your own momentum in a tough, saturated industry.

• The Long Game: Infrastructure and Adaptive Reuse
  Rod outlines why power access, energy resiliency, and creative repositioning are the keys to future-proofing buildings and staying relevant in a changing market.

Rod Kritsberg On:

“Build quality and location are the only amenities that matter. Everything else is marketing.”

“The tenant of 2019 isn’t coming back. We build for the one that’s already here—and sick of bad design.”

“If the glass is cheap, the ceiling’s low, and your lobby’s an afterthought—you’re not getting $80 PSF in Midtown South.”

“Energy infrastructure is the next zoning. If your building can’t support heat pumps and microgrids, it’s already obsolete.”

“The market’s fragmented—but taste travels. Our tenants know what good looks like, whether they’re in NYC or Austin or Chicago.”

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