Pittsburgh Yards, a development project located at 352 University Ave SW
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Tag: <span>atlanta</span>
Pittsburgh Yards, a development project in Southwest Atlanta, announced the addition
With the success of its transformation of a former truck terminal into
A relatively massive blank slate of construction-ready land along the BeltLine’s Southside Trail
A project intended to lift up one of Atlanta’s most disinvested areas
While touring with a client recently, many times the “vibe check” question came up in conversation. From the east side to downtown, the question remained, “What type of vibe are you looking for?” You may wonder what a vibe check is. In this instance, vibe check references the kind of energy occupiers want their employees to feel in their office space. Does an easy, laid back and walkable scenario mesh well with your company values, or does a clean and modern high rise situation align better? With the “War for Talent” upon us, office users have learned, “It’s not so much about the rent, rates and service charge anymore, it’s the story that a building can tell, if that fits the values of that
organization, which is more important.” If you want to attract and retain talent, occupiers must focus on value fit, test fit, and energy fit.
According to the Wall Street Journal demand for industrial commercial property is cooling. The Atlanta market industrial construction study by Cushman & Wakefield shows rapid leasing (and pre-leasing) activity and indicates a total market drop in industrial vacancy from 7.1% to 3.2% despite delivery delays and supply chain constraints.
King and Queen Towers Atlanta
The end of last year took a really amazing turn for me. I became a member of the leasing team for the King and Queen building at Concourse Office Park in Atlanta, GA. Being a part of a Rockstar team and representing a trophy asset is a HUGE deal, but it was more than just the “deal” for me. The King and Queen Towers and I have a lot of history.
“Those towers remind me of horses.”
That may sound weird…but stay with me. If you take a horse out for a walk or ride, when they see the barn on the way back, they run home (and if you have never ridden horses before, that can be a very scary experience!) That barn represents a beacon of light for them. It is a safe place where they know they will be cared for by people who love them and want the best for them. The towers represented that beacon of light for me. I knew once I saw them, love was right around the corner.
I am originally from St. Louis, MO but a lot of my family migrated to Atlanta over the years. After my mother died during my junior year in college, there was only myself and my little sister left. I moved off campus to live with my sister in my mother’s home. It was an eerie time. The lack of noise in the house made me miss my Georgia family tremendously.
“When my sister and I were little, we would travel to Georgia every summer.”
At the young ages of 7 and 8 years old, my mom would put my sister and I on a Delta Airlines flight alone to visit our family. It was my job to take care of her, so that is what I did. Our aunts and cousins would pick us up from the airport and we would head to out to Alpharetta to reunite with the rest of our family. I always hated how long the ride was, but it was also super exciting. I knew we were getting close to home when I saw the King and Queen Towers…the landmark.
I would get so excited to see those beautiful towers and I would marvel at their different colors. My sister and I used to bet we could figure out what color the towers would be this time. We both were always wrong.
After I graduated college, my aunt offered me a job and I moved to Atlanta. After a while, she decided to branch off on her own and I offered to help her. I left my shop and helped her to create her own brand. We figured out the business plan, the annual budget, and how we were going to attract talent. As far as we were concerned, the only way to attract the type of talent she needed, was to offer a sexy office space. King and Queen Towers, here we come!
“I will never forget when we pulled into the garage and walked into Concourse 5.”
My mind was blown. I could not believe I was inside one of the towers! We were taken to see several office suites – each one better than the last. It was so exciting to be there and I was grateful to my aunt for having exposed me to the majesty of Concourse at such a young age. Ultimately, my aunt could not afford the rates and we were unable to fulfill our dreams of leasing space at the towers.
Twenty years later, I have the keys to the building. Contact me today to schedule your tour. Trust me, this is where dreams are made. www.concourseofficepark.com.
Coworking has changed the game
Coworking is no longer only about office leasing…it is more about an experience. Coworking spaces each have their own respective ambiance and, depending on what floats your boat, you have several options to choose from. Long gone are the days of being boxed into a traditional office space. Coworking is a new kind of product with a new mode of thought that has attracted a new kind of consumer.
This model really gives hope to the budding entrepreneur. Some start-ups have amazing potential (a solid business plan, sound projections, and sensible targets) but they do not have the capital yet. It does not mean they will not get it; it just means they just do not have it now. In order to be productive, businesses need a dedicated space to create a solid foundation.
Coworking affords the opportunity to create stability
Sometimes a company needs a coworking space because they are testing the market. Atlanta is a big slice of pie and it can be hard to determine where your market share is. While you can guess from afar, it makes more sense to get some boots on the ground to help the company move forward. Coworking creates a platform for businesses to get their feet wet in Atlanta before committing in a way that hugely impacts their bottom line.
Today’s concept of office leasing simply is not what it was 3 or 5 years ago. Companies that enter new markets, and choose coworking as an option, have a plan. They are intentional about choosing coworking as a first stop before deciding to lease traditional office space.
We are in a recession
While coworking is a great option for some business owners, there are some challenges for the coworking sector of the office market. We are in a recession and, due to all this volatility, we are at a point in the real estate cycle where we really do not know what is going to happen. This cycle is unparalleled to any other that we have experienced. Who could have imagined experiencing a pandemic in their lifetime? Not me.
Out of 50 states, Georgia is ranked #15 for population growth
We have 18 Fortune 500 companies here, and our real estate is attractive to everyone. This means businesses are coming. Coworking has been in rapid growth mode since 2016. According to a JLL survey published in the 4th quarter of 2019 on office space optimization, the average worker spends only 40% of their day at their desk and 80% of work is considered “collaborative” (that sounds like the foundation for the coworking model to me).
Flexible work space is not a passing trend…especially considering our current environment. Coworking has prepared us for these strange times by enabling us to visualize what a non-traditional office environment looks like. In fact, it is the future of our work space. I think we can all agree on that now.
What does the future of coworking look like?
Despite that fact, we need to know what the future looks like. According to Cushman & Wakefield’s 4Q20 Market Beat, in 2010, coworking leasing represented just 0.5% of all net new leasing. By 2018, the share was 9.5%. Case in point, during the 2001 recession, Regus (which had embarked on an aggressive expansion program) saw its global occupancy decline from 75%- 59% and then take three years to recover. During the Great Recession, which impacted the CRE sector far more negatively, Regus was better prepared due to its more measured expansion strategy. As a result, Regus’s memberships in the U.S. declined by 5.5% and recovered in a year. Coworking is floating in untraversed waters, however, we all are. We shall see how it all unfolds. Stay tuned.
If you are a smart business person and have ever considered a business move that you know could take you to the next level, then consider Atlanta. It’s a good look and the right move for fast-growing companies who are looking to expand into a strong market. Atlanta has so much to offer (way too much to shove inside one article), so let’s just focus on downtown for now.
DOWNTOWN ATLANTA
You may have already heard about the amazing connectivity the Atlanta Beltline is providing and new developments are still underway. Take a look and see what’s happening in ATL!
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- The Beltline is slated to be connected to Centennial Park via a 3 mile trail which will be erected by the PATH Foundation.
- Germany based developer, Newport, has purchased 47 properties downtown on Peachtree Street, Martin Luther King Jr Drive, Mitchell Street, and Broad Street. Newport plans to do a $500 million makeover which will give south downtown a facelift and a brand, new swagger.
- The proposed Signia Hilton Hotel, designed by Gensler, is slated to kick off in late April or May soon after the NCAA Final Four Tournament.
- The former Norfolk Southern Atlanta HQ is being transformed into a $70 million, 280,000 square foot adaptive-reuse project called Freight House which is conveniently located right off of Highway 20. It will house 6-7 retailers, 50,000 square feet of office space, and hundreds of new residents. This project will be hot and will link downtown and Castleberry Hill.
- Underground Atlanta is also getting a “touch up”. The property will change into a $300 billion blend of apartments, student housing, and retail. It encompasses 12 underground acres plus 225,000 square feet of shopping and entertainment.
- The Gulch is probably one of the city’s most awaited projects. It is being rebranded as the Centennial Yards which will be a $5 billion dollar mini city consisting of 8 million square feet of office space, 1,000 residences, 1,500 hotel rooms, and a regional mall’s worth of retail.
CAN WE SAY, “PRE-LEASE”?
We are talking about $10 billion dollars in new developments slated for downtown. In addition to that, an 8 member 501(c)(6) CPD (Central Park District) advisory committee, including major property owners as well as representation from the Atlanta Convention & Visitor’s Bureau, has been formed. They are working together to pool resources to make Atlanta more appealing to visitors and to attract more tourists.
Strengthen your brand, elevate your standards, and turn your “shoulds” into “musts”. Atlanta is where your business should must be.
