“In the late 90s, we thought most class A office projects' designs were sorely outdated and based on buildings developed in the 70s and 80s. These buildings were stand alone, jewel boxes with small windows, small floor plates, stark common areas in locations that were chosen more for their prestige and executive preferences over the preferences of the workforce.” So says Russ Parker, co-managing partner of Parker Properties.
In chatting with GlobeSt.com in celebration of our 15th anniversary, Parker pointed to his firm's signature project, Summit Office Campus in Aliso Viejo, CA to show how office design has changed over the years.
Parker Properties began development of Summit Office Campus in 1996. Today the campus encompasses 14 buildings, totaling approximately 1.7 million square feet of space. Summit is home to well over 100 class-A tenants and 6,000 workers. The firm recently announced a 205,000-square-foot built to suit for MicroVention completing the seventh and final phase of Summit Office Campus.
“Summit Office Campus was a 'better mousetrap' providing clusters of connected office buildings in a campus setting, generous common areas, maximum daylighting, and large flexible floorplans that worked for both small and large tenants,” he says. “These projects located in LA (Valencia-Santa Clarita) and OC (Aliso Viejo) were located in desirable master-planned communities with diverse housing and plentiful retail amenities.”
Today, he says, most office developers are building “creative office space” as the solution. “But it's more than open ceilings, concrete floors and a fire pit.”
Two significant things have happened during the last 10 years that have changed how people want to work, according to Parker. “The handheld computer enables much greater mobility of all workers and the capability for people to work on faster and in a 24/7 capacity. And the majority of the workforce is comprised of millennials or Gen Y's (age 22-35) and the Baby Boomers are hanging around longer.”
Successful office projects today must offer a multitude of areas to collaborate both inside and outdoor in locations that are fun to hang out at in the evening and on weekends, he explains. They should meet the needs of the millennials, Gen Xers and baby boomers with a whole new set of building features and employee perks that help tenants attract and retain the best and brightest people, he says.
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Natalie Dolce
Natalie Dolce, editor-in-chief of GlobeSt.com and GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum, is responsible for working with editorial staff, freelancers and senior management to help plan the overarching vision that encompasses GlobeSt.com, including short-term and long-term goals for the website, how content integrates through the company’s other product lines and the overall quality of content. Previously she served as national executive editor and editor of the West Coast region for GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Forum, and was responsible for coverage of news and information pertaining to that vital real estate region. Prior to moving out to the Southern California office, she was Northeast bureau chief, covering New York City for GlobeSt.com. Her background includes a stint at InStyle Magazine, and as managing editor with New York Press, an alternative weekly New York City paper. In her career, she has also covered a variety of beats for M magazine, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, FashionLedge.com, and Co-Ed magazine. Dolce has also freelanced for a number of publications, including MSNBC.com and Museums New York magazine.
