{"id":1004487685,"date":"2020-11-05T18:19:04","date_gmt":"2020-11-06T02:19:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/?p=1004487685"},"modified":"2020-11-06T06:15:06","modified_gmt":"2020-11-06T14:15:06","slug":"designing-better-homes-for-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/designing-better-homes-for-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Designing Better Homes for Business"},"content":{"rendered":"

More than seven months into a nationwide experiment in working from home<\/a>, office developers and designers are grappling with a familiar challenge: creating welcoming environments for companies and workers. That perennial task has been intensified by a host of new issues, including heightened safety protocols, liability risks and a lingering unease about returning to the office.<\/p>\n

READ THE DIGEST<\/a><\/p>\n

One theme that has clearly emerged from this year\u2019s crisis is an increased focus on health and wellness in the workplace, from touchless technology and outdoor space to state-of-the-art HVAC systems and HEPA filters. Many developers were already incorporating these features into their projects before the pandemic, but a fresh sense of urgency in the battle against pathogens<\/a> has accelerated the efforts.<\/p>\n

Elijah Equities, for example, decided to include touchless entry in The Warehouse, the developer\u2019s adaptive reuse of an aging industrial building into a seven-story boutique office property in Manhattan\u2019s Chelsea district. The Morris Adjmi-designed project, at 520 W. 20th St., will feature a modern glass expansion atop the original base and will offer 98,000 square feet of office space.<\/p>\n

Intriguingly, the building will also include a wraparound outdoor space on the structure\u2019s fifth floor \u201cneck\u201d as well as a spacious rooftop deck. \u201cI do think that outdoor space is going to be bigger and more important than it was pre-COVID-19,\u201d said David Falk, part of the Newmark team that serves as the property\u2019s leasing agent.<\/p>\n

At a time when safety concerns dominate occupant decisions, Falk contends that properties offering such features are particularly appealing to a single user. \u201cA building like this is even more important because someone can really implement what\u2019s important to them with cleaning protocols and air filtration,\u201d he said. For example, tenants can initiate food pickup for their employees and otherwise control their environment, he noted.<\/p>\n

\"Designed<\/a>

Designed by Morris Adjmi Architects, The Warehouse features a modern, three-story glass expansion atop a four-story brick base comprising a former industrial building in Manhattan\u2019s Chelsea district. Elijah Equities developed the new Class A office property at 520 W. 20th St. Image courtesy of Noel Calingasan<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Breath of fresh air<\/h2>\n

Outdoor space may prove important in future projects, suggests Brian Atkinson, managing director at Hines. T3 Goose Island, the firm\u2019s planned heavy-timber office development in Chicago, will feature outdoor balconies on every floor as well as a rooftop deck. Hines is considering building either a single 50,000-square-foot tower or two towers of 22,000 square feet and 25,000 square feet. The latter scenario would offer the option of dedicating one building to a single tenant and offering separate entrances.<\/p>\n

The company also studied additional parking solutions with the expectation that more office workers may choose to drive rather than use public transit. State-of-the-art air conditioning and ventilation continue to be a focus as well, Atkinson added.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile tenants are actually benefiting from all the characteristics of timber, they have all the modern characteristics that we would build into a typical office tower,\u201d he said, citing the sustainable qualities of wood and the energy efficiency provided by a newly constructed curtain wall.<\/p>\n

Despite the national slump in office occupancy, Hines continues its drive to bring timber-based projects to multiple markets. The developer, which opened the first of the pioneering developments in Minneapolis in 2016, broke ground on Denver\u2019s T3 RiNo<\/a> in February and on Toronto\u2019s T3 Bayside<\/a> in July. Facebook signed a lease in March for a full floor of Atlanta\u2019s new T3 West Midtown, the first heavy-timber office development in the Southeast.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of the projects will be focused on not only moving people vertically with elevators but also having a large, oversized common stair,\u201d Atkinson said of the T3 model. \u201cA lot of people are much more comfortable being closer to the ground, if you will.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Developed<\/a>

Developed by Hines and designed by Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture (HPA) and DLR Group, T3 West Midtown in Atlanta is a seven-story, heavy-timber office building spanning more than 230,000 square feet, including a shared social workspace on the ground floor. Image courtesy of Hines<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Appealing spaces<\/h2>\n

New principles are also governing redevelopment projects as they target tenants\u2019 concerns. Such is the case at Colony Square in Midtown Atlanta. North American Properties recently opened Building 300, a new office property within the landmark development, and broke ground earlier this year on Building 500.<\/p>\n

The redeveloped Colony Square will offer 940,000 square feet of Class A office space, including two legacy office towers, along with retail, hotel and residential space. The company made it a priority to \u201cget the ground level right\u201d by demolishing the 50-year-old enclosed mall that connected the site and replacing it with an activated, open-air space filled with dining, retail and entertainment options, said Tim Perry,  managing director at the Cincinnati-based developer.<\/p>\n

Based on monthly parking data, North American Properties estimates physical occupancy at the office buildings at about 45 percent, significantly higher than Midtown Atlanta\u2019s current average of about 17 percent. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t feel like you\u2019re going into an empty building, it doesn\u2019t feel lonely, it doesn\u2019t feel unproductive,\u201d he said. \u201cIt feels like an active environment that you want to go to work in.\u201d<\/p>\n

NAP is also investing some $280,000 in UVC lighting to complement Colony Square\u2019s existing air filtration systems. Airborne germ-destroying technology will join existing safety measures that include an elevator concierge and heightened cleaning protocols for the project\u2019s office buildings.<\/p>\n

\"Law<\/a>

Law firm Jones Day signed a lease for the entire office portion of Building 500, a six-story property within the redeveloped Colony Square complex in Atlanta. Beyer Blinder Belle is the master architect for all of Colony Square, including Building 500, while Lord Aeck Sargent is the architect of record. Rendering courtesy of North American Properties<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Transit and flexibility<\/h2>\n

As workers gradually return to their offices<\/a>, often in staggered shifts, interiors are also undergoing a rethink. Flexible designs that accommodate health concerns while allowing for workforce growth or downsizing are likely to become more important to occupants.<\/p>\n

Ryan Ware, vice president & co-founder of Vantis<\/a>, observed that the interior construction firm\u2019s clients are placing a high value on adaptability. \u201cWhat we try to stress is about easing the pain of the unknown,\u201d he said. The Santa Clara, Calif.-based firm is providing corporate and health-care users with custom-designed walls and panels that can be reconfigured, with primary components constructed off-site.<\/p>\n

Ware characterizes the message from Vantis\u2019 clients as, \u201cWe just realized that we can\u2019t design in a way that tethers us statically.\u201d Though the building\u2019s core and shell may have a 50-to-150-year useful life,” he added, \u201cInteriors are really on a 2-to-3-year time scale.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even if office occupancy eventually approaches pre-2020 levels, the pandemic may induce a permanent shift in the way that people travel to work, with many employees likely to shun public transportation. Before the health crisis, JEMB Realty Corp. planned to outfit its 1 Willoughby Square development in Brooklyn with a dedicated bike entrance, storage for 250 bikes, and lockers and showers for employees who pedal to work.<\/p>\n

The 34-story, 500,000-square-foot project, which is Brooklyn\u2019s tallest office tower<\/a>, will also feature private outdoor spaces on multiple floors, advanced air filtration and operable windows to allow fresh air to circulate within the building. FXCollaborative, 1 Willoughby Square\u2019s architect, is slated to become anchor tenant of the nearly complete building in late 2020.<\/p>\n

Neil King, vice chairman at CBRE & a member of the property\u2019s leasing team, noted that tour activity has picked up significantly as the city continues to reopen. \u201cThose types of projects that are special pieces of real estate or new construction really are going to do quite well coming out of this,\u201d he predicted.<\/p>\n

Read the November 2020 issue of CPE.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New office developments that offer outdoor spaces, bike amenities and germicidal tech may have a competitive edge in the effort to win over wary tenants.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":744,"featured_media":1004487877,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21782,1521,21742,21785],"tags":[32789,36509,32797,48971,36007,34831,41324],"class_list":["post-1004487685","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-development","category-digital","category-latest","category-property-management","tag-cbre","tag-david-falk","tag-hines","tag-jemb-realty","tag-newmark-knight-frank","tag-north-american-properties","tag-one-willoughby-square"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDesigning Better Homes for Business - 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\/designing-better-homes-for-business\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Designing Better Homes for Business\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"New office developments that offer outdoor spaces, bike amenities and germicidal tech may have a competitive edge in the effort to win over wary tenants.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/designing-better-homes-for-business\/\" \/>\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=\"2020-11-06T02:19:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-11-06T14:15:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2020\/10\/Warehouse2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"750\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Greg Isaacson\" \/>\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\/designing-better-homes-for-business\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/designing-better-homes-for-business\/\",\"name\":\"Designing Better Homes for Business - Commercial Property Executive\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/designing-better-homes-for-business\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/designing-better-homes-for-business\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2020\/10\/Warehouse2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-11-06T02:19:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-11-06T14:15:06+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/1a92010198045e41b0b801129a41b3d8\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/designing-better-homes-for-business\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/designing-better-homes-for-business\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/designing-better-homes-for-business\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2020\/10\/Warehouse2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2020\/10\/Warehouse2.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":750,\"caption\":\"Designed by Morris Admi Architects, The Warehouse features a modern, three-story glass expansion atop a four-story brick base comprising a former industrial building in Manhattan\u2019s Chelsea district. Elijah Equities developed the new Class A office property at 520 W. 20th St. Image courtesy of Noel Calingasan\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/designing-better-homes-for-business\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Designing Better Homes for Business\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Commercial Property Executive\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/1a92010198045e41b0b801129a41b3d8\",\"name\":\"Greg Isaacson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c3761131a0fc41d60a369af57b00072d7482135ec1ca68c0df952bda4d027fc7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c3761131a0fc41d60a369af57b00072d7482135ec1ca68c0df952bda4d027fc7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Greg Isaacson\"},\"description\":\"Greg Isaacson is a Senior Associate Editor with Commercial Property Executive and Multi-Housing News. He has been writing about the real estate industry in the U.S. and Asia Pacific since 2014. Connect with him on Twitter: @gregisaacson\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/author\/gregisaacson\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Designing Better Homes for Business - Commercial Property Executive","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/designing-better-homes-for-business\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Designing Better Homes for Business","og_description":"New office developments that offer outdoor spaces, bike amenities and germicidal tech may have a competitive edge in the effort to win over wary tenants.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/designing-better-homes-for-business\/","og_site_name":"Commercial Property Executive","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CPExecutive","article_published_time":"2020-11-06T02:19:04+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-11-06T14:15:06+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":750,"url":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2020\/10\/Warehouse2.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Greg Isaacson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@cpexecutive","twitter_site":"@cpexecutive","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/designing-better-homes-for-business\/","url":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/designing-better-homes-for-business\/","name":"Designing Better Homes for Business - Commercial Property Executive","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/designing-better-homes-for-business\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/designing-better-homes-for-business\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2020\/10\/Warehouse2.jpg","datePublished":"2020-11-06T02:19:04+00:00","dateModified":"2020-11-06T14:15:06+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/1a92010198045e41b0b801129a41b3d8"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/designing-better-homes-for-business\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/designing-better-homes-for-business\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/designing-better-homes-for-business\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2020\/10\/Warehouse2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2020\/10\/Warehouse2.jpg","width":1000,"height":750,"caption":"Designed by Morris Admi Architects, The Warehouse features a modern, three-story glass expansion atop a four-story brick base comprising a former industrial building in Manhattan\u2019s Chelsea district. Elijah Equities developed the new Class A office property at 520 W. 20th St. Image courtesy of Noel Calingasan"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/designing-better-homes-for-business\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Designing Better Homes for Business"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/","name":"Commercial Property Executive","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/1a92010198045e41b0b801129a41b3d8","name":"Greg Isaacson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c3761131a0fc41d60a369af57b00072d7482135ec1ca68c0df952bda4d027fc7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c3761131a0fc41d60a369af57b00072d7482135ec1ca68c0df952bda4d027fc7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Greg Isaacson"},"description":"Greg Isaacson is a Senior Associate Editor with Commercial Property Executive and Multi-Housing News. He has been writing about the real estate industry in the U.S. and Asia Pacific since 2014. Connect with him on Twitter: @gregisaacson","url":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/author\/gregisaacson\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2020\/10\/Warehouse2.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1004487685","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/744"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1004487685"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1004487685\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1004491087,"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1004487685\/revisions\/1004491087"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1004487877"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1004487685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1004487685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1004487685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}