As the second day of NAIOP’s CRE.Converge neared a close in Las Vegas, attendees had an opportunity to learn a bit about the city that will host next year’s conference: Toronto.
A devastating natural disaster, followed by a sudden (and equally devastating) recession, followed by a global pandemic. This trifecta of horrors sent Calgary into a tailspin for nearly a decade. Now the largest city in the Canadian province of Alberta is rebounding in a big way. And the commercial real estate industry not only is riding the bounce-back wave; in many ways, it’s steering it.
Has remote work hurt employees and is it time to return to the workplace to boost social connections, receive in-person mentoring and reduce isolation? The answer may be yes, but there is also a need for employers to create supportive and well-managed workplaces.
“The spaces we occupy profoundly influence our lives, and it is my goal to shape those spaces in a way that enhances the well-being, productivity and creativity of individuals and businesses alike,” said Jace Jonsson, a recipient of the 2023 Developing Leaders Award. Jonsson said that his commercial real estate career has always been driven by the desire to be “a catalyst for positive change” within the commercial real estate industry and the broader community of Calgary in Alberta, Canada.
Standing 37 stories in downtown Minneapolis is RBC Gateway, the first Class A office building constructed in the city since 2001. Members of the NAIOP National Forums enjoyed a tour of this facility during the National Forums Symposium held this week in Minneapolis.
In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, many downtowns across the country remain disquietingly vacant. The U.S. has the highest office vacancy rates since 1992. Some levels of hybrid and remote work are here to stay, and now the commercial real estate landscape faces some tough decisions, offering both challenges, which are clear, and unique opportunities, which are less well-defined but coming into focus.
As we start a new year, the office outlook is still mixed. Although more companies are requiring employees to be in the office some days per week, we are far from the high occupancy that many central business districts enjoyed before 2020. Companies are still figuring out their workplace strategies – how often to bring in employees and how to better use their space for the reality of work today.
As the office sector undergoes transformations in response to evolving work trends and the flight-to quality movement, businesses continue to seek the best office spaces that can suit both their needs and their budgets. For most, the perfect choice may lie in a compromise between location clout and asset quality.
