Lianne Godfrey’s Post

Despite challenges elsewhere, downtown Dallas remains vibrant as companies embrace growth and relocate to Uptown, showcasing the city's resilience and adaptability.   Partners' research, featuring insights from Steve Triolet, underscores this positive momentum amidst corporate America's hybrid work model transition. While challenges persist, such as a 26.5% office vacancy rate, ongoing office conversions and the region's rapid population growth offer promising avenues for revitalization. https://lnkd.in/geuJRZ5U

Downtown markets were hit first, and the hardest, but the suburban markets aren’t immune. As leases expire, companies are taking the opportunity to evaluate and adjust their office footprints to the new norm (at least for the foreseeable future). While I think we will continue to see more people returning to the office, we are seeing that it won’t be a quick process.

We don’t have a space problem, we have a utilization problem. That is a statement that we made often when speaking with the CFO or our clients. It looked like we were bursting at the seams in terms of not having enough space to seat everyone, but then we would do a floor work and find oodles of empty offices. This dichotomy was caused primarily by a one-to-one desking ratio and was the impetuous for us to move to Activity Based Working. An office design where in exchange for giving up “ownership” of an office, employees get access to a variety of spaces to support the different types of activities they need to do on a given day. I credit the amazing work by the folks at Veldhoen + Company for inspiring us to move forward with this. In 2017, when we starting our ABW journey, there were not many technology providers out there supporting us. Fortunately today, post-pandemic, there are prop tech companies like HubStar out there. It was amazing to meet with Joe Harris this week in London and learn more about the great work Hubstar is doing to help their clients like AECOM make hybrid working work better. Are you having space issues or utilization issues? Reach out to Joe and get some data - Facts and make informed decisions. Joe was also an amazing host and in addition to the great coffee shop recommendation, Joe gave me the lay of the land for Chelsea Football Club match that we were attending the following day. Joe’s recommendations for parts of the city to see were also bang on; the walk along the water past Shakespeare Globe, Clink Street and Borough Market were highlights for me of our tour of London. ***** P.S. Chelsea FC, decimated Westham 5-0. What an amazing first The Premier League match to see in person. Off to Amsterdam today, Rotterdam and then to Bruges, so any recommendations for non-tourist activities and sites there are also welcome!

“More organisations are looking for spaces that enable a better workday for employees, in more attractive parts of the city. As companies pay top dollar for quality, the gravitational pull to newer, higher-quality offices leaves a vacuum behind for lower-grade buildings.” Leesman’s founder and CEO, Tim Oldman, recently sat down with BBC Worklife’s Alex Christian to discuss the impact on commercial real estate and city centres as working models continue to adapt. Companies have begun downsizing offices, opting for smaller, higher-quality spaces. Recent Leesman data suggests a 40% reduction in total office space, with Tim noting a shift in preference to newer, optimised offices, creating an opportunity for a new landscape filled with creative, mixed-use hubs. The full BBC Worklife article can be found here: https://lnkd.in/gwV9dyNp #TheHybridFuture #hybridworking #LeesmanIndex

“More organisations are looking for spaces that enable a better workday for employees, in more attractive parts of the city. As companies pay top dollar for quality, the gravitational pull to newer, higher-quality offices leaves a vacuum behind for lower-grade buildings.” Leesman’s founder and CEO, Tim Oldman, recently sat down with BBC Worklife’s Alex Christian to discuss the impact on commercial real estate and city centres as working models continue to adapt. Companies have begun downsizing offices, opting for smaller, higher-quality spaces. Recent Leesman data suggests a 40% reduction in total office space, with Tim noting a shift in preference to newer, optimised offices, creating an opportunity for a new landscape filled with creative, mixed-use hubs. The full BBC Worklife article can be found here: https://lnkd.in/gwV9dyNp #TheHybridFuture #hybridworking #LeesmanIndex

At the very end of last year, Three Furies had to move offices. We hadn't planned to do so but the opening of a prison-style bootcamp on the floor below us forced us to pack our boxes. Logistics and opportunity dictated that the relocation happen in December. (Lesson 1: Motivational yelling is not motivating when it's not directed at you but you still hear all of it.) We realized we couldn't stay but after some due diligence, we knew we didn't want to leave the Lower East Side of Manhattan. We love the location, which is convenient for our team, and important since we are on a hybrid schedule. We appreciate all the restaurants and take-out options for lunch and after work socializing, plus the proximity to all of the conveniences (post office, bank) and small businesses (vegan grocery, printer,drug store, pet store) that make our lives easier on a day-to-day basis. (Lesson 2: Consider what *is* working when weighing how big of a change to make.) The good news is that by a stroke of luck, the same offices were available one floor up. Well, 2 of the 3 were. So we leaned into our austerity era, and gave up the couch and an extra desk to make it work, as Tim Gunn used to say. (Lesson 3: When the universe provides opportunity to continue business operations with minimal disruption and save $, do it.) After almost 10 years on the second floor, it's been fun to change up the routine a little. Our new floor is quieter and much brighter. (Lesson 4: Sometimes, a small change is just as impactful as a larger change. Note: It will take at least a week to push the right button on the elevator and stop going to the wrong floor.) We are attached to our co-working space, with our responsive community manager, an active social events calendar, some comfy lounges and a rooftop that we enjoy during the warmer months. (Lesson 5: Appreciate all the good stuff! Say hello to people in the Kitchen! Eat outside in the summer!) Overall, I'm thrilled to start a new year in our new offices with all the comforts of our familiar work community and beloved neighborhood. HNY, everybody!

At the end of another year, we continue to see negative net absorption, strengthening the market for tenants. This is especially true for class B buildings who saw almost 2/3 or that loss, forcing them to get more aggressive and creative to retain and attract tenants. The Chicago market is ripe with opportunities for companies who can enact and enforce a return to office policy as a baseline to create an office that will strengthen the culture they want to create.

"Corporate real estate is on a 'cliff edge' as firms race to rethink communal spaces. The post-pandemic landscape demands innovative approaches to how we use office environments. Flexibility and adaptive designs are key to meeting the evolving needs of businesses and employees. Read more about the shifts in corporate real estate and the future of communal workspaces. #CorporateRealEstate #OfficeDesign #FutureOfWork #WorkplaceInnovation"

As a result of the hybrid working era, many companies are finding they need smaller offices. Compared to pre-pandemic floorplans designed to house as many workers as possible, more businesses are looking towards more compact but higher-quality spaces for the future.

As a result of the hybrid working era, many companies are finding they need smaller offices. Compared to pre-pandemic floorplans designed to house as many workers as possible, more businesses are looking towards more compact but higher-quality spaces for the future.