Bookmarks: 5 Interesting Articles That May Help You This Week

Each week, I select a few articles that rise above the fray and hopefully help you on your journey in the CRE world. They pull from one of four "corners": corporate real estate, technology, management science and anything positive. I welcome your comments on these articles.

1. Reboot: What I Will Do Differently Post Pandemic

I’ve now had 14 weeks to think and reflect – three and a half months. Most people are past the sheer terror of Covid-19, but it’s impacts on us individually will be something we talk about and remember for the rest of our lives.

But through all the fear, uncertainty and doubt, an interesting thing has happened, at least in my own case. I want to use this event as an inflection point. I’m going to turn the presence of this scourge in our land as an opportunity to reboot my life. Heck, we can all use a good kick in the pants from time to time. Why not now?

Here are nine things I’m going to change in my life as our nation and world heal from this emergency.

2. Pent-Up Demand For Atlanta Offices Is Building, Owners Say

Office owners in Atlanta say tenants with leases expiring by the end of the year are fueling pent-up demand.

“Lease expirations, they don't respect pandemics,” Selig Enterprises Executive Vice President Chris Ahrenkiel said during a recent Bisnow webinar on Atlanta's office market.
“Unless you do a short-term renewal, or a renewal, you're forced to make a decision in a more accelerated time frame,” Ahrenkiel said. "There will be true pent-up demand once we get more clarity on this health crisis."

Developers are underway with 4.1M SF of new office in Metro Atlanta. Recent deliveries have, thus far, performed well. Sixty-nine percent of the 1.23M SF delivered in the first quarter of 2020 — including 10000 Avalon and Twelve24 in Central Perimeter — was leased before completion, according to a recent JLL report.

3. Better Than Expected May Retail Sales Fuel Hope for a Faster Recovery

The much-anticipated retail sales data for May far exceeded expectations as consumer spending picked up at a strong pace, albeit from very depressed levels.

After record declines in March and April, retail sales bounced back 17.7% in May as the economy began to reopen, slowly bringing back jobs and allowing consumers to spend their stimulus checks.

Compared to a year ago, retail sales were still down 6.1%, and signs of rebounding consumer spending and sales activity may prove too little too late for many retailers.

4. Will Electrostatic Mist Ruin My Keyboard? Here's A Coronavirus Office Cleaning Primer.

Earlier this spring, Tangram, a curator of interior solutions for workspaces based in Southern California, made a quick pivot to sanitation, announcing a three-tiered, 24/7, nationwide electrostatic mist emergency workplace cleaning service, administered by professional disinfecting crews in full hazmat suits.

The return of tenants to U.S. office buildings is far from a stampede, even though many buildings are ready to open. Nationwide, 45% of companies haven’t even announced a return date yet.

This has given property managers more time to review myriad new cleaning and sterilization products and technologies such as Tangram’s. And time is helpful, because these options — from plexiglass desk dividers to touchless elevator technology to high-tech air-purifying HVAC retrofits — are far from cut and dry.

When it comes to electrostatic mist, it’s becoming more widely available across the CRE industry, but questions remain: How often does it need to be used in order to be effective? Is it causing damage to furniture finishes, carpeting or other office materials? What about electronic equipment? Does it kill the coronavirus? … What is it?

5. Density Has Taken 'A Complete U-Turn,' Boston Properties VP Says

A top Boston Properties executive says the REIT has seen a complete reversal in office density trends as companies look to increase space between their workers.

"Dense floor plans, from what we're hearing in the marketplace, have done an absolute U-turn," Boston Properties Vice President of Engineering Danny Murtagh said during Bisnow's Sustainability In Bay Area Design and Development webinar Thursday afternoon.

"We're going back to more space per person, separation, 6-feet minimum distances, offices may be coming back en vogue," he said. "All of those things have been a complete U-turn from the long plank bench that was going to be the norm in the new high-density office environment."

The change, which Murtagh said he thinks will stick, might boost the sector amid concerns remote work could cut into its performance. Companies abiding by new distancing requirements for employees will need to lease more space for the same number of workers, the theory goes.

Your success blesses others. I wish you a great a hugely impactful week!

Ken Ashley