The freight elevator doors opened onto 50,000 square feet of office real estate. Right now, it is empty, but Seth Besmertnik, chief executive of the software company Conductor, gestured at the beams and concrete floor with pride. He has plans for his company’s new office — conference rooms, a pickleball court and, of course, all of his 200 employees in the New York City area.Mr. Besmertnik conceded that it was scary to persuade his board to sign a lease doubling his office real estate in 2021. But to Mr. Besmertnik, leasing a larger office was a symbol of his belief in physical, in-person coll …
