Evolving use of Office and other Space

[type001]

9/11 didn't actively involve people getting used to and optimizing an effective alternative, though.

Maybe for a few, but just about everyone I know is mentally suffering from the lack of home/work separation and the headache inducing dystopia of constant virtual meetings.

 

[stellarfun]

Long article in the Globe, comparing the post-Covid business and retail environment in the Financial District, Back Bay, and Seaport. Two have substantially recovered, one has not. And what to do about the laggard.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/01/21/business/why-how-downtown-boston-is-recovering-depends-which-downtown-youre-talking-about/

And then there’s the Financial District. Home to 42 percent of the city’s office space, it was the beating heart of Boston’s commercial core. But now it has gone from being the district with the highest volume of foot traffic, according to the report released last October by the city and the Boston Consulting Group, to one that’s limping behind. Foot traffic is still one-third below pre-pandemic levels in the Financial District, according to data firm Placer.ai, and the office vacancy rate is 20.4 percent, Colliers data show.

This downward drift threatens to become a vicious cycle. A central business district where people aren’t going to work isn’t very appealing to retailers and restaurants looking to open up shop. Empty storefronts on quiet streets don’t give workers much reason to return to the office. That’s part of why the vacancy rate around South Station is twice what it is in the Seaport.

Jamison’s COJE Management Group has places in other parts of town too; the Lolita tequila bars in Back Bay and Fort Point, and the Coquette restaurant in the Seaport. They’re busier, and Jamison thinks he knows why. “The Financial District is going to continue to struggle without the return of workers,” he said. “Back Bay, Fort Point, and Seaport all have the benefit of heavily residential populations.”

City officials see this too, and increasingly think the solution may lie in some of those nearly empty office buildings that dot the Financial District, that could potentially be turned into housing. On Thursday the Boston Planning & Development Agency hired a consultant to study this, and some building owners have at least run the numbers on what it would take.

The same story is playing out across the country, as developers are contemplating office-to-residential conversions and other ways to reinvigorate downtowns. Washington, D.C., has 2.5 million square feet of office space dedicated to residential conversions, and is actively courting developers to find ways to transform some of the 20 million more that’s sitting empty. Last month, New York-based commercial landlord Silverstein Properties announced plans to funnel $1.5 billion to turn office towers into apartments.

But the numbers are hard to make work. Because of their different design, not many office buildings work for conversion, and even for those that do, the process can be difficult and costly. And in general, office space commands a higher rent than residential, leading owners to want to hold on and hope, Loh said. So cities that want to convert buildings should look at incentives for building owners, she said.

 

[shmessy]

Long article in the Globe, comparing the post-Covid business and retail environment in the Financial District, Back Bay, and Seaport. Two have substantially recovered, one has not. And what to do about the laggard.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/01/21/business/why-how-downtown-boston-is-recovering-depends-which-downtown-youre-talking-about/

The entire answer is in the 2nd paragraph of that article.

How hard is it for urban officials to understand that post pandemic success for the next century + will be based on how many HUMANOIDS live in an area - - only that will be successful in making a city dynamic. The office as an engine for a district is over. HUMANOIDS will make a district 24-7 dynamic, with demands for restaurants/theatres/services, etc. Going forward, the best way to kill a district is to fill it only with offices/labs.

 

[737900er]

Long article in the Globe, comparing the post-Covid business and retail environment in the Financial District, Back Bay, and Seaport. Two have substantially recovered, one has not. And what to do about the laggard.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/01/21/business/why-how-downtown-boston-is-recovering-depends-which-downtown-youre-talking-about/

I'm not sure that the shoe repair sector is a good example of external dynamics -- office fashion/dresscodes have changed a lot in the post-COVID era.

 

[393b40]

I'm not sure that the shoe repair sector is a good example of external dynamics -- office fashion/dresscodes have changed a lot in the post-COVID era.

Won't someone think of the cobblers?!

Tell me you're out of touch without telling you're out of touch (the reporters, not you).

 

[fatnoah]

The office as an engine for a district is over. HUMANOIDS will make a district 24-7 dynamic, with demands for restaurants/theatres/services, etc. Going forward, the best way to kill a district is to fill it only with offices/labs.

Fully agree. Over the many, many years I've lived and/or worked in Boston proper, I've observed this trend. I worked in the Seaport before the boom, but when it had a couple office buildings. It was a ghost town on holidays, weekends, and evenings. Before more residential buildings started to pop up, it felt like anything downtown that wasn't DTX or Faneuil Hall felt deserted. Anything a human might required, like food, clothing, etc. was closed on weekends. I remember walking down High Street one Sunday afternoon and managing to walk its entire length without seeing another pedestrian.

 

[bigpicture7]

Fully agree. Over the many, many years I've lived and/or worked in Boston proper, I've observed this trend. I worked in the Seaport before the boom, but when it had a couple office buildings. It was a ghost town on holidays, weekends, and evenings. Before more residential buildings started to pop up, it felt like anything downtown that wasn't DTX or Faneuil Hall felt deserted. Anything a human might required, like food, clothing, etc. was closed on weekends. I remember walking down High Street one Sunday afternoon and managing to walk its entire length without seeing another pedestrian.

Agree as well. Well before the pandemic, the Financial District was highly underutilized for substantial portions of time. This is not a new problem (though present trends certainly exacerbate it); thinking about how to diversify the use cases of FiDi buildings has been a challenge many years in the making. The city should not pretend like the pandemic created this, and likewise, the solution depends on many things other than people working in offices.

 

[fatnoah]

I found this linked in a discussion about San Francisco's office vacancy rate. https://www.commercialedge.com/blog/national-office-report/.

 

[HenryAlan]

Per the link, Boston has the lowest vacancy rate among major business centers.