SAN DIEGO—The move from traditional office space to more-collaborative, open-concept floorplans with lots of amenities is mainly driven by companies' desire to keep employees happy, Pacific Building Group's president Jim Roherty tells GlobeSt.com. Construction firms are jumping on this these trends and providing tenants with creative space, which is becoming more and more the norm than the exception.

Roherty says tenants are turning to this trend in order to maximize their square footage. They're also adding collaborative spaces instead of closed conference rooms and private offices. "We're helping tenants achieve community-driven, open-concept floor plans accented by amenity-filled spaces such as break and gathering rooms. We recently completed one such renovation for Moss Adams LLP in La Jolla, which includes 120-degree workstations in four team-building 'communities' designed to increase energy and creativity while promoting collaborative and creative functions."

Roherty adds that employers want to maximize employee comfort, encourage communication and focus on employee retention, "which we're achieving through high-quality HVAC systems and by maximizing natural light with the use of glass walls and modular walls. Outside, we're creating comfortable spaces for barbeques/dining and recreation. Employers are also adding fitness centers, locker areas and bike parking to accommodate an active lifestyle."

Companies' whole approach to work life is also shifting from what it was in the past. Renae Bradshaw, corporate managing director in Savills Studley's Chicago office, tells GlobeSt.com, "It's all about creating buildings that appeal to a different approach to work than 20 years ago. And, with technology driving major changes in work processes, buildings have to respond by creating areas that can be adapted over time easily."

Technology is obviously a key factor now with modern tenants. As Bradshaw puts it, "With technology making work increasingly more mobile, people can work anywhere. So, when employees come to the office, they need to be productive with their colleagues." Oliver Fleener, SVP, capital markets, for Orange County, CA-based PM Realty Group, adds, "Wi-Fi capabilities throughout a project, digital directory boards, smaller info/screen 'TVs' in elevators—something has to be flashing and moving in the lobby to create that technology buzz."

The craving for open space also reflects a desire for the office to represent more of a lifestyle than a sterile work environment, Jon Pharris, co-founder and president of redevelopment specialist CapRock Partners in Southern California, tells GlobeSt.com. "The next generation of workers is more independent, has grown up doing homework at Starbucks and wants to continue to complete their 'work-work' at comparable-type environments. Contrary to what it may seem to C-level executives, these flexible work environments—for the right employee—can be more productive."

Of course, the high cost of ground-up construction is another driving factor in creative renovations. "We are seeing more 'facelifts and modernizations' in buildings simply because construction costs are still very high, and repositioning buildings is more effective than building ground up," Fleener says. "The trend of 'creative space' or 'progressive space' continues, with building owners adding open-ceiling and open-floor-plan spaces to ground-floor suites, which helps in trying to add that modern flair. We are also seeing more 'timeless' changes being applied, such as removing '80s brass and going to brushed-steel finishes, removing '90s green marble or pink cement and replacing it with more neutral earth-tone travertine colors."

The drive for sustainability is another element spurring office renovations. Andres Angel, senior development manager for Trammell Crow Co. in Houston, tells GlobeSt.com, "The development community's current approach to updating/renovating offices is to modernize materials and MEP equipment to be more energy efficient to comply with new energy codes, and to provide for technologies that are available in new buildings. By repurposing an older building, the construction can be less extensive than developing a brand-new building, which allows for an earlier move-in date. It is also desirable to generate open space plans that support flexibility for rapid changes in the work environment, to help attract talent to tenants' businesses."