Neighbors: An Important Factor When Selecting Your Business Location
Neighbors: An Important Factor When Selecting Your Business Location When choosing a location for your business you need to keep a lot of things in mind. In addition to the location and quality of the building and Lease, or Sale, terms you may want to consider are who your neighbors are. Just like when buying a house or renting an apartment you want to find a place that is in a good neighborhood that you feel safe in, and that has people who are like minded to you. To take it a step further when you are looking for an office space you should think about what types of businesses will be around you. For instance, if you are an orthodontist, is there a dentist in the same office complex or down the street that can send you referrals? If you are a specialty cake shop is there a coffee house [...]
Tips to Consider When Searching for an Independent Retail Space
As a Commercial Real Estate Tenant Representative, I work with a variety of business each with their own needs for commercial real estate space. The ability to work with an independent retailer is often unique because the checklist of requirements is drastically different than a commercial office building. Finding a space that fits the products being sold, target audience (convenience and visibility with customers is critical), and potential foot traffic is a fun and rewarding challenge. Outlined below are a few options to consider for independent retailers when considering commercial space. Mall, Strip Mall, or Standalone Building Location, location, location. Making sure you pick a store front in the right location is critical to the success of your business, and a lot of it depends on what kind of business you have. If you are a hip clothing store whose demographic is Millennials you might want to select a location [...]
Philadelphia’s Changing Skyline
A city is defined by it’s skyline. The image of a city’s skyline goes on everything from t-shirts to coffee cups to paintings. It helps establish the identity of a city and it’s people. But skylines are always changing, especially here in Philadelphia. I’m sure when you think of the Philly skyline a few major images come to mind, the distinct silhouette of William Penn on the top of City Hall, the massive boxy outline of the Comcast Center, the matching points of One and Two Liberty Place. Later this year the Comcast Technology Center will open and the skyline will once again change forever. It will be the tallest building in the city at 1,121 feet tall, the other Comcast Center was previously the tallest since 2008. City Hall was actually the tallest building all the way up until 1987 when Liberty Place was built. And so the Curse [...]
Philadelphia Inquirer Article
Jacob Adelman of the Philadelphia Inquirer recently published an article detailing how the Philadelphia City Council has approved a real estate transfer tax law that will close existing loopholes, and could have a huge impact on future transactions. I found it very informative and wanted to share with anyone else that was interested in the Commercial Real Estate industry. Click this link to view the article!
The Cities are Hot, The Suburbs are Not
The Cities are Hot, The Suburbs are Not The world of commercial office space is changing. The questionsis not only how it’s changing but where? In the 1940’s and 1950’s, returning GI’s left the cities to buy their dream homes in the suburbs. The developers were more than happy to accommodate and thus began the suburban sprawl. Office buildings were built to accommodate companies that wanted offices near their owners, employees, and customers. For over 50 years, this cycle repeated itself throughout the country and suburban office markets boomed. This changed in the first decade of the new millennium. The millennials, raised on digital social connectivity, wanted social connection in real life and a lifestyle incorporating working, living, and playing, in the same proximity. They moved to cities, both large and small, that could accommodate their lifestyle: New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, Denver, Salt Lake City, [...]
Low Ceiling with Gray Skies, or Blue Skies caused by FASB Rule Changes?
In the Spring 2016 Issue of National Association of Realtors magazine, Commercial Connections, in an Advocacy Article titled “A Look at Several of The Issues Important to your Business” under “Lease Accounting” there is information on the new FASB Standards that were released in February 2016. This is a reference to the Financial Accounting Standards Board, FASB Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-2 February 2016, Leases (Topic 842). This is the first big change in something like 40 years to the standards for Lease Accounting. It does apply to all leases, not just commercial real estate leases. For companies that use GAAP accounting it goes into effect December 15, 2018. Most private companies have until 2019 for fiscal years beginning December 15, 2019 to transition to the new rules. There is a lot to digest. And I suspect companies that use GAAP accounting [...]
Montgomery County Office Trends 2016
Let’s look at trends in the office markets in Montgomery County mid year to the Fall 2016. Vacancy in the overall market is just under 12%. The average gross rent is $24.00 psf per year, BUT quality matters. Looking at vacancy and rental rate trends in Class A Office Space in Montgomery County PA you now see a vacancy in 7.3% and rates average $28.00 psf, please see the graphs below. Office Montgomery County PA Vacancy & Rental Rates Just shy of $24.00 Class A Office Space in Montgomery County PA Within Montgomery County vacancy and rates vary by location within the county. It is broken down into towns and A, B, C class office space. Office Market Mid-Year 2016 CLICK TO ENLARGE Montgomery County Class A, B, C
The New World of Work
Collaborative office space was originally conceived by Steve Jobs for his new Pixar headquarters in Emeryville, California. He believed employees who work independently are less creative than those who work together. So he designed Pixar to provide chance encounters, giving employees the opportunity to connect, collaborate, and create. As more tech companies adopted this approach, they observed and experienced the extensive benefits of collaborative office space: Reduced Footprint. Traditional office spaces are based on 250-300 square feet per person. Employees in collaborative space sit at benches and managers use workstations, thus reducing space needs by up to 40 percent. Google Space. Google took collaborative space to the next level. Perks such as gourmet food, massages, and fitness facilities are bait to attract and retain top talent. This minimizes the need for and cost of staffing companies. Work/Life Balance. Google Space has become so attractive to employees that they don’t want [...]
Company Culture: Center City v. the Burbs
If your company is looking to make a move one of the biggest things to consider is location, location, location. Where your company sits is huge in not only determining the type of people and clients you attract, but it also helps define your brand and how the world sees you. There are many factors to consider. Do you need to be near the port, near the turnpike, near potential employees, or your customers, near your home, etc. If you are a fancy tech start up that wants cutting edge programmers, you want to have stylish offices in the heart of Center City. The Work where they Live Strategy. And, where your employees can grab a coffee at Starbucks on their break, get sushi for lunch, and go out for a beer with their friends after work, all within a mile or so of your location. Central Business District of [...]
Things to Consider When Getting Ready to do a Mass Hire
Is your company growing? Will you soon need to bring on a number of new people? That’s fantastic! But are you prepared for everything that comes with doing a big round of hiring? Below are some practical tips and advice of what to consider when getting ready to expand your company talent. First and foremost if you are getting ready to do a mass hire it is likely that you will need to look at larger office locations to accommodate your growth. There are many factors that will need to be considered when making such a decision and most of them will depend on the amount of people you plan to bring onboard. Parking If your new location is not in a metropolitan area where most people commute via public transit you will need to consider parking availability for your new hires. Availability of on-site parking or street parking are [...]