0 Tenants Returning to Boston Offices Will Find A Strange New World

By Dees Stribling | Bisnow | April 27, 2020

Most Boston commercial space is now empty, but the time is approaching when many or most workers return, perhaps in shifts or only a few days a week.

Property managers are already trying to sort out the transition, speakers on Bisnow’s health and safety in property management webinar Thursday said. The details of bringing people back into commercial space in an orderly and safe way aren’t clear. One thing is clear: It won’t be easy.

Most space in Downtown and in Cambridge is empty, with commercial occupancy below 5%, though occupancy is higher than that in a few pockets, such as life science space, Lincoln Property Co. Vice President of Property Management Scott Rickards said.

“We’re planning for re-occupancy at some point after May 4,” Rickards said. “Could be sooner, we hope. We’re fielding an increasing amount of questions every day from tenants about what they can expect.”

Personal responsibility is going to be critically important to making re-occupancy work, Rickards said.

“We all know people who go to work sick, and that’s what we really can’t have,” he said. “Every company has to be responsible for its employees, and every individual responsible for themselves.”

The focus now, EBI Consulting Director of Environmental Health & Safety Karla King said, is how company policies can evolve to address the future re-entry. Some companies have specific issues, such as those needing to deal with COVID-19 cases at their buildings, while others are simply trying to devise forward-looking planning.

“We’re working closely with some of our clients, evaluating current housekeeping and programs and getting an understanding of high-touch and common spaces,” King said.

In the case of a building with a suspected COVID-19 case, each instance is evaluated based on when it happened and how isolated the space is, King said. Then her company works with the client to identify or evaluate a cleaning company, looking closely at its cleaning products and protocols.

Even without a COVID-19 case, tenants who plan to return need to formulate detailed plans, King said.

“What PPE are people going to be bringing or wearing to the office, mandated by state or federal officials, or by their own choice?” she said. “Where are they going to dispose of their PPE?”

Boston Realty Advisors Managing Principal Wil Catlin, who moderated the webinar, asked whether some landlords will have stricter requirements regarding PPE than others.

“At some level, there needs to be baseline standards,” he said.

PPE use will vary according to the use of the space and how much common space there is, King said, adding that common areas and high-touch spaces are going to be the biggest areas of concern for property managers.

“That’s one thing to communicate to tenants: the importance of everyone controlling their space,” King said.

Property managers can’t be responsible for the cleanliness of every specific desk or other personal area, King said, since it is largely out of their control. Instead, they will be more concerned with common spaces, such as gyms, cafeterias, restrooms and reception areas.

Catlin also asked about security procedures in a post-pandemic environment, specifically how buildings will handle front desks and check-ins. Technology is a longer-term answer to security, Rickards said, and some Class-A buildings probably already have the tech in place to go touchless.

“There are some apps that work with security systems so that your phone has a unique identity, and you can walk into the building, and it knows your app,” Rickards said.

But most Boston real estate doesn’t have that kind of sophistication yet, he said. In many small lobbies, social distancing won’t even be possible.

“So there will be a lot of workarounds, and that’s going to extend the need for PPE,” Rickards said. “You’re going to need to have a mask on, and maybe gloves. Can we come up with a way to show an ID so that no one else touches it? It might be a rudimentary as the security guard doing all the writing. It’s going to be complicated.”

0 Millennials and Gen Z Still Value Traditional Office Space

Commercial landlords swept up in coworking and open office trends have not lost sight on the importance of physical office space in accommodating the Millennial and Gen-Z consumer.

By Mariah Brown | GlobeSt| March 10, 2020 

Commercial landlords swept up in coworking and open office trends have not lost sight on the importance of physical office space in accommodating the Millennial consumer. Architects, landlords, and tenants alike note that Millennials, as well as their younger cohort Gen-Z, are more transient than previous generations and because of that need flexible work accommodations. However, both groups also desire an office setting to plug-in for longterm career confidence, according to a recent Deloitte survey on workplace flexibility.

According to the survey, 89 percent of respondents said that a traditional work setting is essential for advancing their careers. And landlords have no choice but to get creative in its office offerings to not only compete with coworking companies but as well as other office landlords for corporate tenants that are competing for young professional talent. “Regardless of the location, all office occupiers are in a race for talent and require a quality work environment that maximizes work productivity,” Will Caitlin, managing director and senior partner of Boston Realty Advisors, tells GlobeSt.com.

According to a recent GlobeSt.com article, In the office market, companies are meeting the demand for a seamless experience to attract and retain talent, or rather companies have been forced to comply, Jolanta Campion, director of research for San Diego at Cushman & Wakefield, tells GlobeSt.com.  “Attractive, amenity-rich real estate is one of the ways companies are able to attract talent in this highly competitive market,” Campion said.

To keep up with the changes for office space, Millenial and GenZ groups have been drawn to traditional office spaces that aren’t your regular real estate and have a live-work-play mentality in mind. “These younger generations typically offer vibrant energy and drive, an existing and future talented labor pool and therefore potential job growth and economic expansion, new ideas and concepts that are helping shape and advance the region,” Campion said.

0 Boston Residents can Monitor City’s Development Projects

CoUrbanize logoWhat is going on over there?  That is one question that gets asked time and time again about commercial developments in Boston. Looking to track the Hub’s developments? Now there is an App for that.

According to the BBJ, “Boston residents will be able to track local projects, find meeting times, and submit online feedback through a new online forum hosted on Boston’s Department of Neighborhood Development website and at CoUrbanize.com. The move, the city said, would increase transparency in the development process for city-owned land and city-funded housing developments…The city of Boston is using the CoUrbanize platform to catalogue information about city-owned land and buildings available for development, in addition to collecting information about affordable housing developments in which the city has an investment.”

The full article is available on the Boston vertical of the BizJournals website: BizJournals.com/Boston.

0 The Right Time to Move into a Larger Office Space

small office space

Credit: Grrouchie.com

Simply put, you know when your business should move into a more formidable space when your business demands it.  This might mean annual cost or it might mean image, either way understand what is important to your organization and what amenities are necessary; cost is not always the driver.

Entrepreneur.com offers some general guidance for Boston businesses on the move:

“First, you’ll need to interview several real-estate brokers who have experience in the area where you’d like to rent. Second, identify exactly how much space you’ll need now and in the near future. Factor in growth, but be realistic in your estimate and don’t take on much more space than you need. Then you and the broker can begin looking for spaces that meet your space requirements, budget, location and office layout. Once you find a space you’d like to lease, then you should hire a real-estate attorney to review the agreement.”

0 Boston Office Market is Positioned for Continued Growth

The Boston office and retail market is expected to continue its upward march.

Boston office market trends

Credit: multihousingnews.com

According to an editorial on MultiHousingNews.com, “developers completed approximately 4.2 million square feet of office space over the last 12 months as compared to merely 1.4 million square feet in the previous year. Around 5.2 million square feet currently under construction in the metro area is expected to come online throughout 2016. According to Marcus & Millichap, approximately 3.2 million square feet of office space is set for completion by the end of 2014—a 1 percent increase from 2013—with new inventory being heavily concentrated in the Boston/Suffolk County and Route 128 North submarkets.”

For a detailed indicator of the Boston office market direction, jump over to the MultiHousingNews website.

 

0 Needham Crossing Progressing

Needham Crossing development

Credit: prnewswire

The Town of Needham is experiencing a boom in development. With an abundance of newly-constructed office buildings in Needham, recent zoning changes as well as the state’s add-a-lane highway project –- which will include on- and off-ramps for Route 128 at Kendrick Street -– Jeremy Freid, a partner in the suburban arm of Boston Realty Advisors, believes said change will send positive signals to the business community.

A Needham Times editorial on WickedLocal, Let Needham Crossing thrive, includes a progress report on the commercial development:

“The biggest boon to Needham Crossing came in late 2012 when TripAdvisor agreed to move its headquarters there after Needham Town Meeting approved $1.8 million in tax breaks for the company in exchange for construction of a new headquarters and the hiring of 250 additional employees over five years. The new headquarters is slowly coming to fruition. Its steel frame is already up, and the project is moving toward a 2015 completion date.”