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— Property Management Quarterly — April 2016
I
recently moderated a panel
at the Colorado Real Estate
Journal’s 13th Annual Property
Management Symposium. The
panel, comprising Doug Wulf
of Cushman & Wakefield, Jamie
Gard of NGKF and Alec Wynne of
Avison Young, was focused on the
competitive nature of office spaces
in the current market.
Our discussion centered on a par-
ticular buzzword within the millen-
nial population: collaboration. Many
buyers in the current market are
investing in exercise facilities, col-
laboration spaces, game areas and
other open areas where employees
can work together in a more relaxed
and “fun” environment.
Having been in the industry for
years, I needed to understand two
major questions – why is there a
need for “fun” at the workplace, and
why are owners spending money
getting rid of rentable square foot-
age to create these “fun” areas?
Normally, I would never advise a
client to take rentable square foot-
age from a building to increase
common areas so that employees
can play games. My philosophy has
always been to encourage produc-
tivity; people focused on their spe-
cific goals and working to achieve
those goals.
Currently we are a multigenera-
tional workplace and never before
have we been so interested in all
employees having fun when they
came to work. So my question for
the panelists was, “Why are we
doing this?” It
seems strange that
we’re getting ready
for millennials
when the last baby
boomer will not
retire until 2029,
not to mention the
Gen Xers.
Here are some
highlights from the
panelist answers:
• First and fore-
most, brand your
building. Not
every building will
become more com-
petitive by imple-
menting these new
trends if the existing tenants and
the type of property is conducive
to office-intensive tenants, such as
lawyers, oil and gas, etc.
• Buildings that have an open
concept will attract tech-savvy ten-
ants that are open to a new way of
thinking.
• Owners are looking for the
advantage over comparable build-
ings in the market, and a building
with more amenities will be more
desirable.
• The lobby should be updated to
have comfortable and bright seating
areas, privacy seating areas, plenty
of power so people can plug in, flat-
screen TVs and Wi-Fi connectivity.
The lobby becomes a collaboration
space as well.
• Conference rooms are out. (To
clarify, I don’t agree with this, but
the feeling is that they are wasted
space that don’t get used.)
• Market-ready spaces are trend-
ing. In the past, you would build out
3,000 to 5,000 square feet of office
space so a tenant could rent imme-
diately. The spaces would be built
with kitchens and other amenities
that would entice new tenants.
However, in our discussion, market-
ready spaces now are being built at
10,000 to 12,000 sf or full-floor spac-
es. If you are not creating market-
ready spaces, there is a good chance
you are sitting on space much lon-
ger and losing out.
• White-box spaces so tenants
can visualize the space better. If a
space is vacant, demo it: take out
all the old walls, carpet, etc., and
keep the space open and bright.
Paint the walls, prepare the floors
and make the space a visual beauty
to entice new tenants. Tenants can-
not visualize their occupancy if they
are asked to go into an old vacant
space. Make your space stand out,
and be one that they will remember.
• Exercise facilities are trending.
All of the competition is consider-
ing building a facility or already
built one.
• Collaboration spaces are impor-
tant; the concept encourages people
to become more synergized and
excited to be at work. Collaborative
spaces create better flow of com-
munication, resulting in new ideas
and new concepts.
• Game rooms, bistros and other
food areas are popular. Everyone
loves to play games and eat. Who
could argue that?
• Think: dogs at work.
Although all of the panelists
agreed on the above topics, I have
to play devil’s advocate and bring
attention to why everyone is sup-
posed to have fun at work. Weren’t
we all hired to do a job and for this
we get paid? Why are we so con-
cerned about the fun factor? As
generations change, the younger
group wants fun – to work and play
in the same place.
Fun and games break down the
barriers between departments,
according to an article from Forbes
on millennials and fun. “This cre-
ates a more open and communica-
tive atmosphere, and consequently
a more creative and productive
workplace,” the article said. “If col-
leagues are able to freely share and
exchange ideas, like friends over a
cup of coffee, rather than remaining
isolated individuals, companies can
shine.”
The panel discussion was
extremely informative and collab-
orative (see, I’m learning), and we
could have kept the conversation
going for another hour. However,
I still wonder about productivity.
There are some statistical reports
that say these spaces increase pro-
ductivity and then there are some
that say productivity declines.
Unfortunately, that concept will
have to be discussed in another
panel. I’m late for the pingpong
tournament playoffs.
s
Lyla A. Gambow,
CPM, CAM
Managing senior
vice president,
Management
Services,
Transwestern,
Denver
