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SAN DIEGO—Gensler's new space in San Diego features a large “urban living” that doubles as an event space, a VR room for sharing virtual-reality project presentations and a private roof deck overlooking Horton Plaza Park, the firm's principal and managing director Kevin Heinly tells GlobeSt.com. The firm recently moved from its offices on the 16th floor of the 225 Broadway building in Downtown San Diego into 21,000 square feet of office space on the ground and second floors of the building, space formerly occupied by TV station NBC7.
The design firm worked with owner Irvine Co. to create a dynamic, multi-level creative-office environment. We spoke with Heinly about the move, what the firm looks for in its workspace and why the new space works for it now.
GlobeSt.com: Why did your firm make this move?
Heinly: There are several reasons Gensler moved to the ground and second floor space at 225 Broadway. Most pragmatic was a result of our lease expiring, and we had already outgrown our current space in our 16th-floor suite as well as the expansion spaces on the 13th and 15th floors. We needed to all be together in one interconnected workspace, which was definitely a driver in selecting our next home. More importantly, however, we felt the need to foster a stronger connection with the community and establish a brand presence. Occupying the ground floor supports both of these strategies by providing greater accessibility and visibility. Finally, having a strong landlord as a partner in achieving our vision was critical, and the Irvine Co. exceeded our expectations in this role.
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GlobeSt.com: What does Gensler look for now in its own workspace that may have changed from the past?
Heinly: While Gensler has always held organizational performance, sustainability and aesthetic appeal as strong drivers of workplace design, in our new space we really wanted to set aspirational goals in addition to pushing performance around health and wellness. We wanted to create a space where our teams can be inspired to do their best work by offering a variety of working environments—at a time where work can happen anywhere the value of place is critical. Other features we've incorporated are a large, ground-floor “urban living room” that doubles as an event space, a VR Room for sharing virtual reality project presentations and a private roof deck overlooking Horton Plaza Park.
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GlobeSt.com: Why does this particular space work for you?
Heinly: More than two years prior to our lease expiration, we began searching for Downtown office space with a ground floor presence, and after a fairly exhaustive search, couldn't find anything that fit our needs. It was just about this time that NBC announced it was leaving their Downtown studio space located on the ground floor of 225 Broadway, the building we also called home; our plan was hatched. Other factors about the space that inspired us were the high-bay ground floor, allowing for the construction of a mezzanine, which serves as our resource library; the roof area at the second level which allowed for the incorporation of a roof deck; and having our own “front door” off of the east plaza.
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Carrie Rossenfeld
Carrie Rossenfeld is a reporter for the San Diego and Orange County markets on GlobeSt.com and a contributor to Real Estate Forum. She was a trade-magazine and newsletter editor in New York City before moving to Southern California to become a freelance writer and editor for magazines, books and websites. Rossenfeld has written extensively on topics including commercial real estate, running a medical practice, intellectual-property licensing and giftware. She has edited books about profiting from real estate and has ghostwritten a book about starting a home-based business.
