Barbra Murray

As companies transition to hybrid work in 2023, the tech sector faces challenges such as conflicting office-return mandates and the unique social needs of tech workers.

In Chicago, the 1M sq. ft. office tower at 30 North LaSalle was seized by its lender, raising uncertainty about a $173M project to convert 432K sq. ft. into 432 apartments with $75M in TIF funding.(Image: SCB)

The pandemic spurred significant U.S. migration, with families moving closer, city residents seeking space, and remote work options driving relocations.

The MULTI system by ThyssenKrupp is a ropeless elevator capable of both vertical and horizontal movement within a building. (Image: TK Elevator)

As energy prices rose in the last half-century, energy efficiency became more and more important to commercial building developers, owners, and managers. Now, it is rare to find a building that doesn’t have some sort of energy-efficient upgrades. The return on investment in the implementation of energy-saving measures can be substantial, to say nothing of the environmental benefits and the prestige that comes with sustainable certifications. Of the plethora of building features that can be upgraded or converted to provide greater energy efficiency, there is one common building component that sometimes goes overlooked: vertical transportation equipment. Office buildings, multifamily towers, and multi-level retail properties all rely on vertical transportation in the form of elevators and escalators. While elevators and escalators may not be among the first places that building owners look at for energy savings, the options for conserving and even generating energy in vertical transportation systems are on the upswing.

It’s hard to conceive of a time in human history when we didn’t need secure entry into buildings. The key, from the carved wooden stick to the ubiquitous metal implement to the more modern keycard and even more progressive passcode, has served that purpose for eons. Over the last few years, however, high-tech change has been afoot in the world of access control, with the use of biometrics as a “virtual key” in the built environment becoming more prevalent. Biometrics is a multifaceted technology that utilizes physiological and behavioral characteristics to verify an individual’s identity, and that verification, along with access software, can literally open doors. As biometrics continues to evolve, so will the options for building access control. It seems the traditional key, in its metallic form and even in its plastic card incarnation, is destined to go the way of typewriters when personal computers came on the scene. But unlike the transition from typewriters to PCs, there are a host of issues to be taken into consideration when considering throwing away the key in favor of biometrics.

Access control is more than just a means of entry; it offers essential information for every building. Through access control data, building managers and corporate users can track who enters and exits the premises, along with their movements inside. This data serves a purpose beyond just monitoring employees; it is crucial for enabling the automation that defines a “smart” building. When access control, which provides detailed information on building occupancy, is integrated with building management systems, it allows for automatic adjustments in HVAC and lighting. This integration ensures optimal comfort, efficiency, and security based on current occupancy levels.

Rare is the individual, drinker or not, who doesn’t have a story about a booze-filled work event. Birthday parties, corporate celebrations, and the annual holiday parties–drinks are almost always available at such office events. While the numbers aren’t in from 2023’s year-end celebration, there’s no reason to believe they’ll be much different from last year’s figures from Alchohol.org, which found that 88 percent of respondents had two to four glasses of alcohol during the office holiday party. It’s not just about work parties. Imbibing at the office during a daytime social event or after work hours has become part of business culture in much of the world. And now it’s being encouraged even more. In an effort to get hybrid employees to come into the office, companies are planning more social events, many of which include alcohol.

There’s still a lot to be said for taking into consideration the traditional top-three real estate investment criteria: location, location, location. Commercial real estate investors have long relied on a variety of location-related data to help inform their decision-making. Historically, that came in the form of reports from property brokers like CBRE, JLL, and Cushman & Wakefield. These reports can provide great market data, but they are only able to do so at the submarket level. Anyone in real estate knows that markets are much more nuanced than that and can often vary greatly from neighborhood to neighborhood or even street to street.

Non-property data sources, including sentiment analysis, geospatial data, and predictive analytics, are reshaping decision-making in commercial real estate. These sources offer valuable insights into tenant attitudes, site characteristics, climate risk, and market trends, enabling investors to make more informed choices and adapt to an evolving real estate landscape.