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Page 28 — Office Properties Quarterly — December 2016
formulates a great community.
Additionally, it’s important to create
a support system for your community
through educational opportunities,
partnerships and access to benefi-
cial tools. For example, we recently
partnered with the Founder Institute,
a business incubator, entrepreneur
training and startup launch program,
and we partner with Rockies Venture
Club and Venture Zone to offer entre-
preneurs resources for funding, net-
working and collaboration.
In the end, the shift away from indi-
viduals and toward community has
changed the concept of co-working in
Denver. In order to meet the growing
needs of this burgeoning community,
co-working space managers and own-
ers need to look toward ideal loca-
tions, formulate flexible workspaces
and cultivate a supportive community
to allow for a co-working space and
its members to thrive and succeed.s
Johnson
So what does that look like? What
essential structure is Colorado or
Denver still missing, and what does
the next generation need and want in
the way of infrastructure?
Evidence suggests that cities that
attract and retain residents increas-
ingly are going to be those that
support multimodal lifestyles with
multiple transit options. That means
a greater focus on moving people vs.
moving cars.
A 2013 American Public Transpor-
tation Association study found that
nearly 70 percent of millennials use
multiple travel options several times
each week. This 18-34 age group
cares less about how they get from A
to B than the efficiency and practical-
ity of the solution.
By supporting alternative transit
options, such as biking – in which
Colorado will invest $100 million over
four years – car- and ride-sharing,
and pedestrian-friendly streets, we
can improve mobility and address
traffic congestion (a major concern
for any rapidly growing metro) for
significantly less in the way of invest-
ment compared to traditional car-
based infrastructure.s
Merrion
of one or two existing hard walls that
yield two or four multiuse “focus” or
“huddle” rooms within the suite. The
demo cost usually is manageable,
and enclosed or even semi-enclosed
spaces like these could accommodate
small-group meetings or designated
quiet areas.
The liberal use of color and alter-
native seating have been millennial
hot points since the term was coined
and, compared to major construction
within the suite, these add-ons are
both economical and effective. This
could begin with paint and carpet,
which are considered tenant finish
basics, but also transformative with a
low price tag.
• Group spaces are happy spaces.
The all-company or “all-hands” area
is, by nature, an open zone in the
office, which can see double or triple
duty as work, play and break space.
This type of area can act as an open
canvas in which structure and orga-
nization are not primary issues. That
is, all-hands space can define what a
small company with limited resourc-
es can do to embrace the millennial
culture, which prioritizes a spirit
of community, collaboration, work,
health and relaxation all happening
at the same time.
This space might include a mix of
hard and soft seating, lounge-style
tables, stools, sofas and mobile soft-
sided “bleachers” in vivid colors. With
nifty design and smart furniture
choices, even very small offices can
adopt a space like this when both
square footage and funds come at a
premium.
Similarly, a company’s commit-
ment to a healthy workplace does not
have to include a dedicated fitness
room within a suite or even within a
building. Sometimes a combination
of healthy snacks, a break space and
a bike rack, for example, are enough
to assure all employees that an active
effort is being made to support their
collective wellness.
One metro Denver building owner is
employing “bike labs” in its remodel
budgets. In addition to the bikes
themselves, the space is outfitted
with tools and parts when on-the-fly
repairs are required.
For tenant spaces, even as little as
150 sf of dedicated wall racks and
vertical storage can satisfy the mil-
lennial preference for bikes over cars.
Again, although sacrificing valuable
square footage, simple bike racks and
storage are cheap ways to advance
one very important method of
employee-based wellness. It’s a rela-
tively small dollar commitment on
the part of the business owner that
can reap significant benefits in good
will.s
Lyon
In 1986, downtown Denver’s oil and
gas companies accounted for 47 per-
cent of the office tenancy and most
exited the marketplace overnight,
creating a glut of office space and a
virtual ghost town for a number of
years. The price of a barrel of oil at the
time was $9 and over 65,000 people
moved out of Colorado that same
year.
Today, oil and gas firms have put
only approximately 924,000 sf of sub-
lease space on the market. The oil and
gas sublease space has been slow to
move due to preferences for an open-
plan layout within the very active,
creative and tech-user market that
continues to migrate to Denver’s CBD.
The Occupier Research report states
that, barring a production freeze
or unforeseen event, oil prices are
expected to remain below $60 per bar-
rel through 2017, and most experts
forecast below $70 through 2020. The
impact of a protracted low-oil-price
scenario is mixed: energy-producing
regions struggle while consumers and
nonenergy producing markets benefit.
While the positives from lower
oil prices outweigh the negatives in
terms of impact on global economic
growth, the effects on the office mar-
ket are more of a mixed bag, accord-
ing to Kevin Thorpe, Cushman &
Wakefield’s global chief economist.
Most energy-producing office mar-
kets have seen economic slowing and
lower occupancy levels, while stron-
ger consumer spending has boosted
occupancy virtually everywhere else,
he said. For occupiers, the prolonged
oil price rebalancing will create effi-
ciency and cost-saving opportunities
in some markets, but rental pressure
in others.
Layoffs within the energy sector
were prevalent for a few quarters, but
even that area has stabilized more
recently. In spite of the recent pull-
back of oil and gas prices, the 924,000
sf of sublease space pales in compari-
son to the growth we have seen from
other industries.
Denver is supported by several
thriving industries – tech, tourism,
professional services – that have seen
year-over-year rent growth acceler-
ate to 7 percent in the second quar-
ter of this year.s
Pavlakovich
Thrive Workplace
Community is perhaps the most misunderstood value, as many co-working spaces have differing views on what formulates a great
community.
Companies and investors alike have taken note of the investment Denver has made in itself.