{"id":1004400554,"date":"2020-03-17T18:08:01","date_gmt":"2020-03-18T02:08:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/?p=1004400554"},"modified":"2020-03-20T00:04:51","modified_gmt":"2020-03-20T08:04:51","slug":"the-front-line-how-property-managers-cope-with-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/the-front-line-how-property-managers-cope-with-covid-19\/","title":{"rendered":"The Front Line: How Property Managers Cope With COVID-19"},"content":{"rendered":"

While economists prognosticate about the impact of COVID-19 on commercial real estate investment returns, property managers are on the front lines, actively helping owners and tenants cope with\u2014and respond to\u2014the pandemic.<\/p>\n

CPE spoke to a variety of property managers to see how they how they are addressing the situation at a time when many of their employees may be unable or unwilling to come to work.<\/p>\n

\n

READ ALSO: <\/strong>COVID-19 and the Renewable Energy Impact<\/a><\/p>\n

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Staffing and Business Continuity<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"\"Property managers report that their buildings are staffed with essential personal, such as engineers, many of whom have experienced crises before. But it is challenging.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are working diligently to find ways to accommodate people who have difficult commutes, issues with childcare and other hardships brought on by COVID-19,\u201d<\/em> said Mark Zettl, JLL president of office property management. <\/p>\n

At Newport Beach, Calif.-based RiverRock Real Estate Group, the business continuity program includes identifying all critical functions and cross-training for them. \u201cWe\u2019ve put all that into motion,\u201d<\/em> reported  Steven Core, the company\u2019s president, during Coronavirus Outbreak: What Real Estate Managers Need to Know<\/a>, a recent webinar presented by the Institute of Real Estate Management. \u201c<\/em>If you haven\u2019t put all that into motion, you are already behind the time,\u201d<\/em> he added.<\/p>\n

IREM also released A Pandemic Guide for Real Estate for Real Estate Managers<\/a>. Building Owners and Managers International, meanwhile, has issued the Coronavirus (Covid-19) Preparedness Checklist<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But technology and low attendance by tenants is allowing some property management personnel to work at home. \u201cWhat is happening is most tenants have taken a proactive stance and gone to flex hours or working from home,\u201d<\/em> said Grayson Gill, COO of property management at CBRE, \u201cand that has reduced the workload at the property level and that has allowed us to scale back.\u201d<\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n

Cleaning<\/strong> <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Property managers are also battling the virus by upped the cleanliness of their buildings. One recommended practice is installing additional hand sanitizers in areas in highly trafficked areas like elevators and entrances. Another is asking cleaning companies which products they use, and whether they are cleaning high-touch areas (such as call buttons, handles, and faucet hardware) with greater frequency.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are trying to take the disinfection of the restrooms and take it to the rest of the building,\u201d<\/em> Gill explained. \u201cWe are potentially following the CDC guidelines and asking that standard be extended to the (entire) square footage of the space.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"

Blake Peterson, Senior Vice President\/Asset Services, Transwestern. Photo courtesy of Transwestern<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Transwestern reports that some of its properties are passing out personal-size hand sanitizer and vitamin packets, as well as setting up flu shot clinics for tenants. The company is also stocking restrooms with facial tissues, which are typically only in employee spaces.<\/p>\n

Managers should use as a standard the sanitary precautions they would take in their home, advised Blake Peterson, senior vice president of asset services at Transwestern.<\/p>\n

Communications<\/strong> <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Throughout the crisis, property managers have played a vital role in informing tenants how to stay safe by relaying information from the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization via email and postings in restrooms and common areas. And, when there is a diagnosis or an exposure, they are working with tenants on how to clean their spaces and alerting other tenants so they can decide how to proceed. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Social Distancing and Common Spaces<\/strong><\/h2>\n

While health officials are recommending six feet of \u201csocial distance,\u201d property managers typically oversee common spaces (such as conference rooms and restaurants) where that might be difficult to attain. Zettl said JLL is keeping an eye on what he calls a \u201cfluid\u201d situation.   <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cCurrently, some buildings are still operating with full use of their amenity spaces, but with extra precautions to ensure those spaces are clean,\u201d<\/em> he said. \u201cThose precautions could include deep cleanings, employees wearing gloves, removing as many community touchpoints as possible, and an increased cleaning regimen for the building\u2019s janitorial staff.\u201d<\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n

CBRE\u2019s Gill said that while restrictions have been put on restaurants and cafes\u2014such as limiting service to takeout orders\u2014he is glad that establishments are still being able to operate in some capacity. \u201cThere has been a very good effort to recognize that these are private businesses that have to stay in business,\u201d<\/em> he noted. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Tenant Assistance<\/strong> <\/strong><\/h2>\n

While this is still early in the crisis, Gill said he anticipates there will be some tenants who ask for rent relief. Some businesses inevitably lack adequate business interruption insurance or a continuity plan. But he also expects that technology will prove to be a major tool for allowing tenants\u2019 businesses to proceed. JLL reports it is working with some tenants to create a business continuity plan if there isn\u2019t one in place. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Getting Back to Work<\/strong> <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Property managers are already thinking about how they will work with owners to help tenants resume business in their space.<\/p>\n

Knowing that cleanliness will be a big concern, Gill recommends that owners and tenants think about employing a certified industrial hygienist. Used more commonly in the oil, mining and nuclear industries, this real estate service provider will inspect individual spaces and the path of travel within those spaces and prescribe a customized cleaning plan, including the frequency at which at which certain surfaces should be cleaned.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis will pass,\u201d<\/em> he said. \u201cPeople will want to get back to work and we\u2019ll support them in that effort.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Building operators are relying on their business continuity plans to keep buildings running during this crisis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":756,"featured_media":1004400566,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21808,21742,21747,21785],"tags":[47069,32789,48950,47291,32796,35345,33313],"class_list":["post-1004400554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-latest","category-office","category-property-management","tag-boma-international","tag-cbre","tag-coronavirus","tag-irem","tag-jll","tag-riverrock-real-estate-group","tag-transwestern"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Front Line: How Property Managers Cope With COVID-19 - Commercial Property Executive<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/the-front-line-how-property-managers-cope-with-covid-19\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Front Line: How Property Managers Cope With COVID-19\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Building operators are relying on their business continuity plans to keep buildings running during this crisis.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/the-front-line-how-property-managers-cope-with-covid-19\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Commercial Property Executive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CPExecutive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-03-18T02:08:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-03-20T08:04:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2020\/03\/management-2766430_960_720.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"804\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"620\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Therese Fitzgerald\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@cpexecutive\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@cpexecutive\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/the-front-line-how-property-managers-cope-with-covid-19\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/the-front-line-how-property-managers-cope-with-covid-19\/\",\"name\":\"The Front Line: How Property Managers Cope With COVID-19 - 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