Raphael Stevens

Southwest Airlines and American Airlines said they were increasing service to and from Maui.
Airlines waived fare differences and other fees for travelers headed to the island.
11,000 people have been evacuated from Maui, where at least 36 people died because of the Lahaina fire.

Passengers try to rest and sleep after canceled and delayed flights while others wait to board flights off the island as thousands of passengers were stranded at the Kahului Airport (OGG) in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui in Kahului, Hawaii on August 9, 2023. 
Patrick T. Fallon | AFP | Getty Images

Airlines added flights to get travelers off of Maui after wildfires on the Hawaiian island killed at least 36 people and prompted evacuations.
American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, Alaska Airlines said they were adding service to help customers leave. More than 11,000 people have been flown off the island since the fires began, Ed Sniffen, the state’s transportation director, told a news conference late Wednesday local time, NBC News reported. Much of the seaside town of Lahaina had burned down, after the fires were fanned by winds from Hurricane Dora.

Hawaiian Airlines said it had added six additional Maui flights on Thursday and that it’s using larger planes between Honolulu and Maui to move passengers as well as water, food and other essentials. The carrier discouraged travelers without reservations from coming to Kahului Airport in Maui because of crowding.
“While we are currently operating our full schedule and have seats available on flights out of Maui today, we are concentrating our resources on transporting essential personnel and first responders,” the carrier said. It also warned of possible disruptions on other routes “as we work to support essential travel needs for Maui.”
An American Airlines spokeswoman said the carrier plans to operate all of the scheduled flights to and from Kahului Airport on Thursday. A spokeswoman said the carrier has “added an additional flight and upgraded an aircraft today to ensure customers evacuating OGG are able to do so.”
The airline swapped out Airbus A321 narrow-body planes, which can seat about 190 passengers, for some of the flights for a Boeing 777-200, one of the largest planes in its fleet, which have 273 seats, according to American’s website.
Southwest Airlines also said it was adding service to Hawaii from the U.S. mainland and intra-island flights.

United Airlines said it has canceled Thursday’s inbound flights to Kahului Airport, but that it’s flying aircraft in empty to pick up travelers on Maui.
Alaska Airlines said it added a “rescue flight” on Thursday, bringing the carrier’s total departures from Maui to nine.
“Our main concern is the safety of our employees and guests,” the airline said in a statement. “We’re assessing the addition of more rescue flights to help get people off the island.”
All major airlines waived fare-differences and cancellation penalties for travelers whose trips were impacted by the fires. More

College students and their families are expected to spend a record amount this year as demand for electronics and dorm decor grows.
The average that households plan in back-to-college spending has shot up by 40% since 2019 to about $1,367 per person this year, according to an annual survey.
Retailers say sales have grown in recent years as younger consumers watch dorm videos on TikTok and want their college housing to reflect their personality.

People walk on the campus of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill on June 29, 2023 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Eros Hoagland | Getty Images

Over the past few years, Alicia Browne has noticed a change in what college students haul out of cars on move-in days at the University of Alabama.
Along with pillows, comforters and laptops, more students arrive with mini-fridges, headboards, Keurig coffee makers and even air purifiers. Some hire decorators who drop off linens, custom-made curtains and other furniture or decor orders on a specific vendor delivery day that the university created.

“It [dorm spending] has grown over the last decade, but since Covid, I think it has really exploded,” said Browne, the university’s director of housing administration for about 13 years.
The back-to-college spending bump could be one of the biggest sales opportunities for retailers this fall. College students and their families are expected to shell out a record amount this year: an average of about $1,367 per person, according to an annual survey conducted this summer by the National Retail Federation and market researcher Prosper Insights & Analytics. That figure has shot up by about 40% since 2019, according to the survey.

Browne credits the influence of TikTok videos and other social media posts that show off fancy dorms for some of the spending increase. In addition, parents do find themselves wanting to splurge on children who didn’t experience typical college socialization during the pandemic.
“There’s a definite sense from parents and families that their students missed out on things because of Covid, that there’s a need to perhaps help make up for missed experiences,” Browne said. “I do think part of that is trying to ensure their student is as comfortable as possible, as successful, that their start to school is going to be the best it possibly can be. And that involves their living situation and families are willing to pay for it.”
The back-to-college boom also creates a chance for retailers to attract and create ties to a new generation of younger shoppers.

“You’re establishing a relationship at a very important and vulnerable age,” said Marshal Cohen, chief retail advisor for Circana, a market researcher formally known as IRI and The NPD Group. “A strong retailer will retain that relationship over time.”
This year that spending and those closer ties could especially help companies like Target, Walmart, Kohl’s and others that have said more frugal shoppers are buying fewer big-ticket or discretionary items like clothing, electronics and furniture. Those retailers will likely share some early insights about sales trends when they report earnings in the next couple of weeks.
Yet the back-to-college sales alone may not overcome retailers’ other challenges. Many companies, including Best Buy and Macy’s, expect sales to fall this fiscal year as higher priced groceries pressure wallets and consumers favor spending on experiences rather than store-based products.
Some forecasts for the new school year aren’t as rosy as the NRF estimates. Consulting firm Deloitte predicted back-to-school spending for kindergarten through high school students will drop 10% year over year to $597 per student, as consumers focus on buying necessities and choose retailers with lower prices or more deals. It did not forecast back-to-college spending, however.
Households aren’t just expecting to spend more because of inflation, according to the NRF’s back-to-college data. Survey respondents also said they expect to buy more new merchandise and big-ticket items like electronics and furniture than they did last year.

A growing pie — and market share up for grabs

As college spending is poised to grow, retailers have another reason to vie for students’ dollars. This fall marks the first back-to-school season since Bed Bath & Beyond filed for bankruptcy and shuttered its stores, leaving behind market share for others to grab.
Along with its 20%-off coupons, Bed Bath established a strong reputation for being a one-stop shop for college. It carried a lot of items that students needed, including “bed in a bag” sets that typically included a matching comforter, sheets, pillowcases and sometimes pillow shams. Bed Bath also allowed families to buy items at their local store and pick them up at a location near their campus in another state or city.

Bed Bath & Beyond logo is seen on the shop in Williston, Vermont on June 19, 2023.
Jakub Porzycki | Nurphoto | Getty Images

It is difficult to estimate Bed Bath’s total college market share. The company reported revenue of $1.44 billion in the quarter that ended last August. That included sales from other merchandise categories and its chains BuyBuy Baby and Harmon.
Those dollars may now go to retailers like Amazon, TJX-owned HomeGoods and Ikea.
Cristina Fernandez, a retail analyst for Telsey Advisory Group, said she expects Target to be one of the big winners of Bed Bath’s market share. She cited the retailer’s student-friendly items from decor to toiletries and food and its similar locations with plenty of stores near college campuses.
She said the NRF’s forecast seems high, but added families have been willing to splurge on students.
For example, she said, the pricey Pottery Barn Teen brand owned by Williams-Sonoma teamed up with LoveShackFancy, a New York City-based retailer known for frilly and floral designs that caters to shoppers at stores in the Hamptons and on Madison Avenue.
Other retailers have also gotten creative to woo college customers.
Williams-Sonoma’s namesake brand debuted a website landing page of kitchen items for students setting up their first apartment or a shared kitchen in a dorm.Walmart and Target have featured a large mix of college-friendly items on their websites and social media pages, from fuzzy throw pillows to retro-inspired mini-fridges. Shipt, the Target-owned delivery service, and Walmart have both tried to attract more college students to their membership programs by offering a special discounted price.
Target has also worked with college-aged TikTok influencers on videos that show off dorm decor.
At The Container Store, shoppers will see some merchandise from Dormify, a direct-to-consumer retailer, at pop-up shops and online.Dormify co-founder Amanda Zuckerman started the online retailer because of frustrations she had when shopping for her own dorm decor at Bed Bath & Beyond.Now, Zuckerman said Dormify is trying to turn Bed Bath’s closure into a business advantage. She said its average order value has risen 15% year to date.She said the company’s growth has been fueled by college students who want uniquely decorated rooms that reflect their personalities. They have sprung for items that weren’t on shopping lists years ago, including temporary wallpaper, neon signs and gadgets like matcha machines and makeup fridges.Social media has amplified the trend. Now, people are showing off their dorm room to the world, not just to hall mates.”The bar has been raised and I think that has a lot to do with TikTok,” she said. “That’s really all there is to it.”

‘A silent competition’

Kate Reppeto is going into her senior year at University of Mississippi. She said she tries to get creative and watch the budget while decorating, but has seen other students blow out the budget.
Callie Weathers

Kate Reppeto, an incoming senior at University of Mississippi, has gotten creative and stretched her dollars as she’s decorated her college housing. The 22-year-old moved in last weekend to the four-bedroom house that she will share with three friends near the school’s Oxford campus.
Repetto, who is returning to the house she lived in last year, said she’s reusing much of her furniture and decor. That includes a favorite item: a fluffy white bean bag that she got from a yard sale. She hung up a cow painting, which reminds her of growing up in Southlake, a suburb of Dallas-Fort Worth in Texas.
She said she plans to buy some new items, such as clothes from Lululemon and American Eagle-owned chain Aerie, along with makeup. She recently bought a blender from Target. Repetto said she’s trying to stick to spending no more than $400 .
Yet she said that’s below the amount that she’s seen other students spend. The first year of college she said she had to resist pressure to blow her budget.
“It was almost like a silent competition,” she said. “Who has the nicest looking dorm or the prettiest dorm.”

Dorm Decor helped decorate this room. The Birmingham, Ala.-based company can monogram items and even has an in-house artist that can match students’ decorations.
Anna Emblom

Those splurges have created a business for decorators like Dorm Decor, a Birmingham, Alabama-based company that acts as both dorm retailer and interior designer. It specializes in dorm-friendly headboards, bed skirts, storage ottomans and giant pillows called Dutch Euros.
Elizabeth Edwards, sales and marketing manager at Dorm Decor, said families tend to spend between $500 and $2,500 per child. She said the company offers lots of options and personal touches, including pillows that come in hot pink or tiger stripes, items that can be monogrammed and custom-made paintings by an in-house artist that can match students’ decorations.
She said parents across geographies and income levels turn to the company because they want to turn their child’s sterile rooms and “prison-type mattresses” into a feeling of home.
“It doesn’t matter their income,” she said. “They want their child to be comfortable like the next person.” More

Broadcast station owners including Scripps, Nexstar, Sinclair and Gray are interested in obtaining rights to local NBA, NHL and MLB games, according to people familiar with the matter.
Local game rights could be up for grabs as part of the Diamond Sports bankruptcy filing, or as Warner Bros. Discovery looks to exit the business.
Broadcast station owners and pay TV providers, including DirecTV, have been meeting with the leagues and teams to discuss contingency plans to continue delivering games, the people said.
Pay TV providers are looking for other solutions for the diminished regional sports network business, and are balking at the prospect of broadcast stations putting more games over the air, the people said.

Christian Petersen | Getty Images Sport | Getty Images

Tensions are building among broadcast station owners and pay TV providers as the local rights to air NBA, NHL and MLB games go up for grabs.
Broadcast station owners including E.W. Scripps Co., Gray Television, Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair have been in discussions with leagues and teams about potential deals to carry games on free over-the-air channels, according to people familiar with the matter, as long-held media rights for teams on regional sports networks unravel.

Regional sports networks have owned almost all local sports rights for decades, but their viability is in doubt after tens of millions of Americans have been canceling cable TV in recent years. A shift to a model revolving around broadcast stations and direct-to-consumer streaming would upend the business that saw teams and leagues reap hefty fees. It would also boost broadcast station owners leverage in carriage negotiations — and potentially accelerate cord-cutting.
The discussions come soon after Diamond Sports Group, which owns the largest portfolio of RSNs, filed for bankruptcy protection and stopped paying rights fees for some of the teams on its channels. Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns a slate of networks, said it would exit the business by year-end, putting another handful of teams on the table.
The leagues and teams began contingency planning in March when Diamond filed for bankruptcy, the people said.
Broadcasters are viewing the opportunity to carry local NBA, NHL and MLB games as an unexpected pathway to boost the fees they receive from pay TV operators like Comcast, Charter or DirecTV for the right to carry their stations.
Broadcast companies typically tie all of their stations together when they renegotiate contracts with pay TV carriers. That makes local sports unusually valuable.

If companies like Gray or Nexstar can land sports rights in several markets, they can likely use those rights as leverage to boost fees for all of their stations. If pay TV operators push back on price increases, the station groups can threaten to black out the games. Leagues typically want to avoid local blackouts which disappoint sports fans.
That dynamic has led distributors, which have also shown interest in short-term deals to carry games, to express concern to the leagues about more games going to local broadcast stations being provided free to viewers with a TV antenna and no paid package, the people said. They fear local sports moving to broadcasting could further accelerate cord-cutting.
Top executives at DirecTV, including President Bill Morrow, are expected to meet with NBA and NHL leaders in coming weeks as part of an ongoing dialogue about local games if RSNs are to drop teams, some of the people said.
Pay TV providers are also exploring alternatives to keep local games in the bundle. Charter Communications is introducing a cheaper TV bundle in the fall without RSNs to give consumers more choices.
While MLB teams are also at risk, the talks have so far focused on the NBA and NHL, some of the people said.
An NHL spokesperson said the league “is closely monitoring the RSN situation … [and] prepared to address whatever circumstances dictate to provide our fans with access to our games.”

RSN pressure

The Ohio Cup Trophy on top of a Bally Sports logo prior to a game between the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field in Cleveland, May 17, 2022.
George Kubas | Diamond Images | Getty Images

The regional sports network business model has been under pressure as consumers ditch traditional cable bundles and turn to streaming instead.
For decades, these RSNs have paid fees to leagues and teams, and cord-cutting has hit the model especially hard. That, plus the debt load that stemmed from Sinclair’s acquisition of Diamond Sports in 2019, pushed the network’s owner into bankruptcy earlier this year.
As part of the bankruptcy, Diamond is not only looking to restructure its debt load but also reset some of its media rights deals with teams to reflect so-called market rates. A bankruptcy judge ruled Diamond had to make those rights payments or teams can walk away from their contracts.
“We are in ongoing discussions with our team and league partners about paths forward and are engaged in renewal discussions regarding the two distribution agreements that are up this year,” a Diamond spokesperson said in a statement. “Our goal is to continue producing and broadcasting games for all teams in our portfolio.”
In addition to its contracts with teams, Diamond is also negotiating two carriage deals with DirecTV and Comcast, which will soon expire, according to court documents.
Though the networks are still profitable, the industry — from the leagues to pay TV providers — is experimenting with alternatives. Many networks, including Diamond-owned Bally Sports channels, now offer direct-to-consumer streaming options, often priced at $19.99 or more a month.
“The bottom line is you want to be seen in as many homes as possible and generating new revenues,” said sports consultant Lee Berke. “There’s not just one way to do it, but you can’t be fully devoted to pay TV alone. There needs to be different streams of revenue.”

Broadcast is back

Some of these sports deals have already been signed.
The NBA’s Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz recently reached deals to be be aired on local broadcast networks run by Gray and Sinclair, respectively. A Nexstar-owned broadcast station in Los Angeles will carry a set of Clipper games, while the Las Vegas Golden Knights, this year’s NHL Stanley Cup champions, will be aired on a Scripps network this fall.
“One thing is clear to us, regardless of whether [Diamond’s] Bally Sports had financial problems. The distribution of teams only through RSNs had become a really bad business for the teams,” said Brian Lawlor, president of Scripps Sports, a programming division launched in December. “The teams and leagues have a reach problem.”
Before the Scripps deal, Lawlor said, the Knights reached about 35% of households in the Las Vegas area on its original network, owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.

The Vegas Golden Knights celebrate winning the NHL Stanley Cup after defeating the Florida Panthers on June 13, 2023 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. 
Jeff Speer | Icon Sportswire | Getty Images

For these deals to work, broadcast station owners need to have existing stations in the same footprint as the teams as well as an affiliate station in the area that isn’t a top four broadcaster — ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox — in case it interferes with national sports games.
In some cases that means starting new broadcast stations, and in others affiliate networks like the CW Network or Scripps’ Ion could be used.
Nexstar’s CW has been increasingly interested in adding sports, with recent deals for ACC college football games and NASCAR, and would be interested in obtaining more sports rights, including for local games, according to some of the people familiar with the current deals talks.
The Phoenix Suns will be aired between two Gray networks, including the newly launched KPHE, reaching more than 2.8 million households and tripling its audience reach. The Suns’ deal came to fruition as Diamond opted not to renew its contract with the team. The Suns’ rights had also drawn interest from Scripps, some of the people said.
Some argue that while cord-cutting is depleting the traditional RSN business, it is still profitable and the lucrative rights fees prop up the payrolls of leagues and teams. Deals with over-the-air broadcasters are unlikely to replicate those fees, even if they expand the reach.
“The reality is that the issue people keep talking about is the rights fees. But the rights fees aren’t necessarily the question,” said Berke. “The question is what’s the range of revenue opportunities available for teams and media outlets?”
Wider reach means more visibility for fans, Berke pointed out, paving the way for advertising to make up for some of that revenue.

MLB differences

David Peralta #6 of the Arizona Diamondbacks is congratulated by Kole Calhoun #56 and Starling Marte #2 after a walk-off RBI single against the Oakland Athletics during the ninth inning of the MLB game at Chase Field on August 17, 2020 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks defeated the A’s 4-3.
Christian Petersen | Getty Images

Then there’s MLB.
Broadcast station owners have shown interest in airing local MLB games, according to the people familiar, but it may not be as simple as it is for the other leagues.
MLB team territories are so large and it may be difficult to find a single broadcast station that covers the area, one of the people said.
In the last few months, MLB has begun running the distribution for San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks games after Diamond opted out of paying their rights fees amid a push for direct-to-consumer streaming rights for MLB teams.
Diamond’s Bally Sports+ apps don’t carry all of its MLB teams, unlike the NBA and NHL, which have blanket streaming-rights deals with Diamond.
This season fans can watch Padres or Diamondbacks games through cable TV or through the MLB.TV streaming service. Discussions about future carriage of these teams are still ongoing for upcoming seasons, some of the people said.
Disclosure: Comcast owns NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC. More

Representatives of the National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball have questioned the logic of taking a minority stake in ESPN if Disney’s goal is to replace cash payments for league rights with equity, sources said.
Disney is looking for ways to save cash as streaming losses continue and it prepares to buy out Comcast’s Hulu stake.
Disney has informed the leagues that it’s also holding separate talks with strategic investors who can provide distribution benefits, according to people familiar with the matter.

Nikola Jokic of the NBA’s Denver Nuggets prepares to be interviewed by ESPN’s Lisa Salters after the fourth quarter of the Nuggets’ 113-111 Western Conference finals game 4 win over the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, May 22, 2023.
Aaron Ontiveroz | Denver Post | Getty Images

It’s clear to the four major U.S. professional sports leagues that Disney’s ESPN is potentially interested in them taking an equity stake in the network.
What isn’t yet clear is why the leagues would do it.

The National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball have both questioned a partnership with ESPN if Disney’s goal is to mitigate or replace payments to leagues for sports broadcast rights with equity in ESPN, according to people familiar with the talks.
Disney executives and league officials agree that strategic partnership discussions are in the pure “idea” phase and may not amount to anything, said the people, who asked not to be named because the talks are private. Talks have had few specifics, said the people, but may heat up as ESPN attempts to reach a rights renewal deal with the NBA. Disney’s exclusive negotiating window with the NBA ends April 2024.
Disney is considering ways to save cash as it tries to shore up its balance sheet. The media giant’s streaming division continues to lose money — with $512 million lost in its most recent quarter — and the company would like to pay down its $44.5 billion in debt. Disney also likely owes at least $9.2 billion to Comcast for its minority stake in Hulu.
Agreeing to a deal where ESPN trades equity for sports rights could potentially save Disney billions of dollars that it can then use for other strategic ventures. ESPN struck a deal earlier this week with Penn Entertainment, which will provide it with $1.5 billion in cash over the next 10 years.
But the leagues also need cash, especially as the regional sports network business is under threat. Teams pay players in large part from the sports rights fees. ESPN’s bids serve an essential role in how the leagues earn money. The organizations can generate competitive bids for packages of games because ESPN is almost always a potential buyer.

Disney CEO Bob Iger said during Disney’s earnings conference call Wednesday that the company is “not necessarily looking for cash infusion” if partners could provide other assets — such as content — as the company transitions ESPN to a direct-to-consumer business. Sources say Disney is targeting 2025 as a potential launch date for an unbundled-from-cable ESPN streaming service. While ESPN+ exists today, it doesn’t include ESPN’s most valuable live sports such as Monday Night Football and most NBA playoff games.
Disney has informed the leagues that it’s also holding separate talks with strategic investors who can provide distribution benefits, according to people familiar with the matter.
“We’re looking for partners that are going to help ESPN successfully transition to a [direct-to-consumer] model,” Iger said Wednesday. “And that, as I’ve said, can come in the form of either content or distribution and marketing support or both.”
An MLB spokesperson declined to comment. An NBA spokesperson said, “we have a longstanding relationship with Disney and look forward to continuing the discussions around the future of our partnership.”

ESPN spinoff possibilities

Iger reiterated Wednesday that he wants to keep a majority ownership stake in ESPN. Iger told CNBC’s David Faber last month that Disney is “not necessarily” looking at spinning off ESPN.
Still, it’s possible Disney could maintain a majority ownership in ESPN while also spinning it off. That option is “on the table,” according to a person with direct knowledge of Disney’s plans.
A spin off of ESPN would give potential partners clarity on the value of their minority stakes if it trades publicly and separately from Disney. Within Disney, ESPN’s value would be clouded by the larger parent company.
Next quarter, Disney will begin to report ESPN’s finances separately from the rest of the company — another potential precursor to a separation. Former Disney head of strategy Kevin Mayer, who is now advising Iger on the future of ESPN along with former Disney Chief Operating Officer Tom Staggs, has previously championed spinning off ESPN so that the linear business won’t drag down Disney’s growth prospects, CNBC reported last week.
For decades, ESPN has been Disney’s crown jewel, generating billions in profit from lucrative pay-TV subscription fees. ESPN is by far the most valuable cable network, charging nearly $10 per month per household for every U.S. cable subscriber, whether they watch the network or not.
Even as U.S. cable subscribers began cutting the cord, ESPN was able to counteract subscriber revenue losses by boosting the amount of money it receives from the pay TV distributors, such as DirecTV, Dish, Comcast, Charter and Cox.
Within the past 12 months, that trend reversed itself, according to people familiar with the matter.
Still, ratings having increased this year on ESPN’s linear channel even as cord cutting has accelerated. Advertising revenue increased 10% over last year in the most recent quarter “adjusted for comparability,” Iger said Wednesday, as brands look for live events where commercials can’t be skipped.
“The bundle is decaying and they need to come up with a new revenue model,” former ESPN CEO Steve Bornstein said on CNBC on Wednesday. “It’s an evolutionary process, and I think [ESPN] is going to be incredibly well-positioned. The people involved at ESPN today are probably the best executives I’ve ever come across. [ESPN President] Jimmy Pitaro, Kevin Mayer, Bob Iger and Tom Staggs? They’re going to figure out this problem.”
Disney will have to decide if it’s more strategic to keep ESPN’s positive free cash flow to reinvest in streaming entertainment or if spinning off an asset with declining growth trajectory makes more sense.
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal, which owns CNBC.
WATCH: Disney and ESPN are best positioned to figure out new sports media model More

Apartment developers are building out private offices, conference rooms and even podcasting booths to capitalize on a lingering work-from-home trend.
Tenants are increasingly looking for a “third space” where they can work away from both home and the office but are still close by.
Developers’ new focus on workspace amenities in the residential space could also weigh on the city’s commercial real estate market. 

Private phone booth at One Wall Street
Courtesy: One Wall Street

The latest must-have amenity in luxury New York City apartment buildings: a designated coworking space for remote workers.
Apartment developers are building out private offices, conference rooms and even podcasting booths to capitalize on a lingering work-from-home trend. Even as workplaces reopen, 59% of employees are still working from home three or more days a week, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey. More than a third of workers with jobs that can be done remotely are still working from home full time, the survey found.

“Coworking spaces were not a primary focus prior to the pandemic, but the pandemic shifts everything,” said Matthew Villetto, executive vice president of Douglas Elliman Development Marketing.
Tenants are increasingly looking for a “third space” where they can work away from both home and the office but are still close by. And what’s closer than an elevator ride away.
“A coworking space was actually the top of my list when I was touring,” said Lauren Wells, a fashion designer and a resident at 420 Kent in Williamsburg. “When I need to meet with a customer for work, I can just bring up some of my work create a little space up there.”
At buildings such as The Reserve, a new luxury development project in East Harlem; 450 Washington, a Tribeca condominium; and One Wall Street, the city’s largest-ever office-to-residential condominium in the Financial District, developers are adding phone booths, printing services, ergonomic chairs, audiovisual equipment, high-speed internet and full-size kitchens. 
Rent at each of the luxury rental buildings can run up to $7,950 per month for a one-bedroom apartment, while a studio for sale can cost nearly $1 million.

Boardroom at 450 Washington
Courtesy: 450 Washington

For remote workers like Jessica Dang, a resident at The Set in Hudson Yards and the founder of the weight management and lifestyle brand the Essentialist Method, the price tag is worth it.
“I’ve worked in coffee shops, Soho House and WeWork before, but this is a completely different experience because it feels like your own private office,” Dang said.
She also said the coworking spaces offer a unique social aspect.
“You need a second, or third space outside of your apartment, or else you’ll go crazy. With a coworking space that’s right upstairs, I can see other people from the building,” she said.

Shifting focus

Real estate trend watchers say the coworking concept is likely to stick, prompting more apartment buildings to follow suit.
“I think as the work-from-home trend settles in, there’s going to just be increased pressure on residential buildings to pick up that slack,” according to Richard Dubrow, director of marketing at Macklowe Properties, which was behind One Wall Street.
“A lot of buildings will be reconfiguring amenity spaces for the demands of their residents, so it’s just the new reality,” he said.

Co-working space at The Reserve
Courtesy: The Reserve

The rise in residential working space comes against the backdrop of struggling public coworking spaces. On Tuesday, WeWork issued a “going concern” warning about its ability to survive, noting its coworking clients are canceling memberships faster than expected. 
Developers’ new focus on workspace amenities in the residential space could also weigh on the city’s commercial real estate market. 
In New York City, the office vacancy rate rose to a record 17.4% in the first quarter of 2023, according to a report by commercial real estate firm JLL. As demand for residential coworking spaces continues to rise and workers remain reluctant to return to the office, building owners may be forced to rethink how they grapple with vacant office spaces. 
“If office spaces are vacant, clearly, landlords are going to be incentivized to figure out how to use that space,” said Realtor.com Economic Data Analyst Hannah Jones. “This creates opportunities on how you lean into flexibility, whether it be converting office space into something a little more flexible like a coworking space or into residential space.” More

Novo Nordisk will acquire Inversago Pharma, a privately held obesity drug maker, for up to $1.08 billion to broaden the Danish company’s blockbuster weight loss portfolio. 
The deal is Novo Nordisk’s latest attempt to capitalize on the weight loss industry gold rush, which began last year after its Wegovy and Ozempic injections skyrocketed in popularity. 
Inversago’s drugs use a different approach than most treatments in the obesity and diabetes space.

Liselotte Sabroe | Afp | Getty Images

Novo Nordisk on Thursday said it will acquire Inversago Pharma, a privately held obesity drug maker, for up to $1.08 billion to broaden the Danish company’s blockbuster weight loss portfolio. 
The deal is Novo Nordisk’s latest attempt to capitalize on the weight loss industry gold rush, which began last year after its Wegovy and Ozempic injections skyrocketed in popularity. 

The deal’s price depends on whether Inversago reaches certain development and sales goals, Novo Nordisk said in a release. The companies expect to close the acquisition before the end of the year. 
Canada-based Inversago develops experimental therapies to treat people with obesity, diabetes and other conditions affecting the body’s metabolism. 
Inversago’s drugs use a different approach than most treatments in the obesity and diabetes space. They block a protein in the brain called cannabinoid receptor type 1, which plays a role in metabolism and regulating a person’s appetite. 
Meanwhile, Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Ozempic work by mimicking a hormone produced in the gut to suppress a person’s appetite. 
“The acquisition of Inversago Pharma will further strengthen our clinical development pipeline in obesity and related disorders,” said Martin Holst Lange, Novo Nordisk’s executive vice president for development, in a release.

“This promising class of medicine pioneered by the Inversago team could lead to life-changing new treatment options for those living with a serious chronic disease and, in particular, may offer alternative or complementary solutions for people living with obesity,” he added.

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Inversago’s leading therapy is an oral drug that helped patients lose an average of 7.7 pounds after 28 days in a small phase one clinical trial. Those who took a placebo in that trial gained 1 pound on average during the same time period. 
Novo Nordisk intends to further investigate the potential of the oral drug for obesity and obesity-related complications.
Separately on Thursday, Novo Nordisk reported second-quarter results and raised its full-year outlook due to soaring demand for its obesity and diabetes products. 
But the drugmaker said it is extending supply restrictions in the U.S. for some doses of Wegovy. 
Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen on Thursday, in an interview with Reuters, signaled that significant demand for Wegovy will outstrip availabilities in the foreseeable future. He said the company will likely have limits of availability of Wegovy into 2024. More