Where Tenants Want to Play Ball
If you build it, will corporate tenants come? A look at the newest trends.
“If you build it, he will come,” said a voice in the cornfield to Ray Kinsella in Field of Dreams.
As far as life lessons from old sports movies go, it’s not half bad. (Only rivaled by “There’s no crying in baseball,” from A League of Their Own, “Ducks fly together,” from The Mighty Ducks and “Pitcher’s got a big butt,” from Rookie of the Year.) Because when it comes to corporate offices, developers are leaving it all on the field and building new spaces with amazing amenities.
Why construct new spaces instead of sticking to the usual home base? It’s all about delivering what tenants want—and getting employees to want to come back to the office. (It certainly beats forcing them!) After all, a fresh new space that features pickleball courts, restaurants and access to major transit hubs is pretty enticing.
“There are a lot of companies that are afraid of mandates, but they want people back in,” Whitley Collins of CBRE told Robyn Friedman for her article “What’s Driving Corporate Office Moves.”
Siemens Energy, for example, is leaving its headquarters of 40 years and will move to a new master-planned development that will feature shopping, dining and entertainment.
Some companies are also looking to upgrade properties for their corporate offices. Liberty Mutual and shipping company Ocean Network Express recently signed corporate leases at a property with a new tenant lounge, artwork and a coffee shop.
“We’ve had a lot of success leasing that building,” Jim Adler of NAI Hiffman (the company that arranged the lease) told Friedman. “Companies want to go to a building that feels full of life.” What else is driving corporate relocations? And what amenities are corporate tenants looking for (maybe they want to have a catch)? Discover more in Friedman’s article.
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