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December 2017 — Office Properties Quarterly — Page 23
L ike any thriving develop-
ment, Meridian is keenly
concerned with the quality of
life for those who work here
and those who call it home.
The ongoing search for opportu-
nities to improve our community
led to the launch, earlier this year,
of M-Bike – the first shared bicycle
system in the state of Colorado
dedicated to an entire office park
and the first shared bicycle system
installed in Douglas County.
The thinking was straightforward.
The Meridian Metropolitan District
provides lighting for the streets,
water for the people and landscap-
ing for the parks, among other
services, so why not also improve
the transportation options for how
employees and residents move
around our 1,685-acre campus?
The analysis was in-depth and
deliberate.
The idea was bouncing around
when I began work with Meridian
about a year ago, in October 2016.
Soon, the idea went to the board
and a consensus emerged that staff
should determine what it would
take to make the idea a reality.
Evaluating the viability of the
concept was part of an ongoing
conversation our board continues
to pursue: How is the quality of life
and work environment in Merid-
ian defined? What public services
should the district provide? The
board recognized that a status-quo
approach would not keep Meridian
on the cutting edge of attractive
places to live and work.
It’s no secret what businesses
want in high-quality office space:
good views, access to outdoor space,
natural daylight, opportunities for
fitness, access to retail and connec-
tivity with public transit. From our
perspective, it seemed like a shared
bicycle program would check a
number of critical boxes.
• Commuting. The program would
help solve the first-mile, last-mile
challenge for those who commute
by RTD’s FasTracks.
Meridian is fortu-
nate to be served
by the Lincoln Sta-
tion light-rail stop
on the western
boundary of our
campus. A shared
bicycle system
could help com-
muters getting
to the office or
heading to catch a
train on their way
home.
• Recreation. The existing bike trail
system within Meridian covers 11
miles, and it connects with regional
bike trails that can access much of
metro Denver. In addition, guests
staying at The Hilton Garden Inn or
Candlewood Suites could access the
system for recreational riding.
• Access to retail. Meridian offers
a wide range of retail and restau-
rant outlets predominately situated
along Lincoln Avenue. For many
offices, the area is too far to walk
– but well within reach for a lunch-
time trip on a bike.
With the assistance of a consul-
tant, we gauged interest among
our existing tenants and evaluated
potential vendors. (Not all shared
bicycle systems are created equal.)
By spring, we knew there was
interest from our businesses,
including several Fortune 500 com-
panies headquartered in Meridian.
We held in-depth talks with our
tenants because we wanted to be
sure that the system would be used
by employees and residents.
With sufficient enthusiasm from
our businesses, we turned to select-
ing a partner. Again, we took our
time evaluating pros and cons.
We settled on Zagster for a variety
of reasons. The Zagster bikes are
light – 30 percent lighter than some
other systems and, therefore, much
more likely to be used for exercise.
The Zagster system is easy to use
via an online app. And the company
was willing to operate and main-
tain the system on a lease basis.
That meant Meridian did not need
to purchase stations or bikes, and
it provided flexibility to expand the
system or move stations.
The M-Bike system opened in
September with 11 stations, 100
docks and 50 bicycles. In all, the
district committed $90,000 for the
launch of M-Bike’s first phase.
We set three levels of engagement
for businesses. Individuals (visitors,
residents, etc.) can check out a bike
on an hourly basis, of course. But
our principal revenue model was
that businesses would subscribe to
the network – and offer the system
to their employees (or residents) as
a free benefit. The three levels are:
1. $2,500. Access to the system for
all employees.
2. $5,000. Access to the system
and corporate logo on M-Bike bas-
kets.
3. $10,000. Access to the system,
basket logo and corporate branding
of a station.
Among the early supporters were
CH2M, the global engineering giant,
and Toastmasters International, a
nonprofit educational organization
that teaches public speaking and
leadership skills. The first 11 sta-
tions give quick access to many of
Meridian’s 20,000 workers and resi-
dents.
We had a hunch that employees
who worked for businesses that did
not immediately engage would put
gentle pressure on their employ-
ers to request access to the system.
There were many business owners
who did not fully understand bike
sharing and wanted to see it operat-
ing before making a commitment.
We are extremely pleased with
the initial response. Ridership is
strong and there will be a phase
two expansion of M-Bike that will
grow the system to 20 stations, 200
docks and 100 bicycles in the spring
of 2018.
Already M-Bike is a success. It is
adding to our sense of community
and improving our quality of life,
which is what we set out to do. s
Amenity Spotlight
Workforce Trends
work environment will be needed,
as will multifunctional workspaces.
Here’s what’s different: The iGener-
ation, while multitasking more than
ever, also wants private/dedicated
spaces for head’s down, merit-based
work. This group wants touch-down
space, as well as access to team
spaces for face-to-face meetings
with their peers and mentors. While
millennials are characteristically
teamwork oriented, Gen Z is trend-
ing more toward a singular work
approach. This means that many of
them prefer to have their own office
or workspace versus communal,
collaborative workspace.
In addition, the line between
home and the office has blurred
even more – an employee’s work
task may start at the office, con-
tinue on her light-rail ride home
and end on her laptop in her living
room. Short bursts and snapshots
of varying types of work occur
– changing the landscape of the
office. The needed, dedicated foot-
print per person is becoming altered
and the current dissemination in a
space plan of “collaborative” spaces
is expected to decrease for this gen-
eration’s workstyle.
The cockpit, or dedicated employ-
ee workspace, likely will encom-
pass a day of work that consists of
multiple roles and responsibilities.
These varying roles will be happen-
ing concurrently, requiring a new
way of thinking about benching and
workstation design with a more
impactful personalization than
previously seen, which is all in an
attempt to satisfy this generation –
and retain them.
Other nuances in the workplace
will follow suit as a result of this
shift in mindset and workstyle.
All-hands spaces will not be just
for company meetings, but also
for company-provided lattes and
lunch – or even a concert appealing
to the Gen Z workforce. The design
of a Gen Zers’ own workspace will
be multiscreened for multitasking
and support mostly online work
with a social media dependency. It
will require stimulation and visual
interface. According to the Society
for Human Resource Management,
44 percent of managers feel that
Gen Zers’ reliance on technology is
an advantage to their forthcoming
role in the workforce. Where there
is a workplace deficit is in the abil-
ity to provide those leading-edge
technological tools, and integrate
them into the employee-dedicated
workspace. From a technology per-
spective, ever heard of “4-D think-
ers”? They’re reflective, critical, cre-
ative and process-based thinkers …
and will depend on a technological-
ly sound and progressive workspace
to support these initiatives.
What trends will push forward
into 2018 and which new trends
will emerge? While hard to predict
with 100 percent accuracy, we’re
seeing some trend-forward strate-
gies employed. Office design and
the world of commercial real estate,
architects and engineers, project
managers and all other strategic
partners on a project will be impact-
ed with the new ideas forthcoming.
Virtual reality rooms, or VRRs, likely
will start to populate a program with
specialized workspaces needed as a
new and emerging part of program-
ming – real-time predictability in
various forms. Sociometric ID badges
as workplace data collectors will
likely come into play and provide
the ability to collect information
on encounters, postures and work
patterns. Lighting sensors might
advance to a trackable solution for
movement and occupancy studies
to enable workplace utilization data
points for companies evaluating
their current real estate portfolios.
Adaptable technology solutions
within the built furniture environ-
ment likely will become increasingly
more important with the ability to
outsmart obsolete technology at
the forefront. Enhanced design for
health and well-being will go beyond
sustainability certifications and
become an integrated, employee-
based focus. Li-Fi may outsmart
Wi-Fi with wireless data transferred
through light, which may make it an
impactful trend for larger, program-
matic spaces.
That said and in light of all of the
above – real estate will be required
to compensate. Competition for
space is fierce, as is recruiting and
retaining talent. It’s time to be pro-
active, as opposed to reactive, and be
one step ahead of the trending. The
iGeneration is expecting advance-
ments, enhancements and sophisti-
cation in the built environments in
which its members work. In creating
a workspace for the iGeneration, the
recipe for success will be not to cate-
gorize, stereotype and create a right/
wrong/indifferent scenario. Rather, it
will be about transparently blending
all cross-sections of the workforce
and enabling success in the work
environment for all. s
Eric Hecox
Vice president, Shea
Properties, Denver
Evan Semon
The M-Bike system opened in September with 11 stations, 100 docks and 50 bicycles.