Suburban office parks are repositioning themselves to attract a Millennial workforce by providing urban-core amenities.
The mix of services suburban office parks are adopting include activating outdoor spaces with the likes of beach volleyball courts, fire pits, amphitheaters for concerts, and hosting food trucks, to more conventional amenity spaces like fitness centers and coffee lounges, according to an article in Bloomberg.
Companies looking to attract talent are starting to select suburban areas for a variety of reasons, including cheaper real estate than in the central business district, and livability options for prospective employees.
Suburban sites with the most appeal combine the best of suburban and urban environments, such as access to public transit, walkable main streets, and good schools. Examples of these markets include the Frisco-Plano area in the Dallas-Fort Worth suburbs, which has recently attracted the likes of Toyota and JP Morgan Chase, according to an article in National Real Estate Investor.
However, as much as 22 percent of the U.S. suburban office inventory is "obsolete," and will either need to the repurposed into another use such as hospitality or storage, or somehow create the walkable access to restaurants and retail so desired by employees and employers alike. Failing that, the properties are likely to "remain challenged," according to National Real Estate Investor.
This Quick Read was submitted by Naomi Millán, senior editor, Building Operating Management. The photo above is of the fitness center at 101 Station Drive, a three-floor, 208,000-square-foot, formerly single-tenant office building just outside Boston. To learn more about that building's repositioning project into a multi-tenant facility with urban/suburban amenities, go to www.facilitiesnet.com/16596bom.
