Which Office Amenities Will Make the Cut?

WASHINGTON—Outside-the-box amenities like rock walls and ping-pong tables won’t be around for long if they don’t prove to be an efficient use of space for companies, Colliers International ‘s president of investor services and real estate management services Karen Whitt and marketing manager Jason Meidhof tell GlobeSt.com exclusively. (Colliers International is a GlobeSt.com Thought Leader.) Whitt, who advises her clients on the “new now” of amenities, from green roofs to better bike storage, says in order to have staying power, office amenities must not only help attract and retain talent, but also contribute to companies’ bottom lines. It’s no secret that office owners are spending more time, effort, money and space on the amenities their buildings offer. A recent white paper by Colliers states, “In the past, approximately 3% of portfolio space was committed to features like gyms and on-site dining. Today, owners should expect to allocate approximately 10%, and those who are trying to attract highly sought-after tenants should look to reserve 12% or more.” Our discussion covered the full spectrum of product from downtown CBD to suburban campus office amenities; where fully functioning gyms, high end cafeteria and collaborative space are the baseline for today’s tenants. Depending on the location, some of the must-haves for this space include electric-car charging stations, climate controlled and secure bike storage with easy access to showers—because people are using bikes, walking and skateboarding to work vs. driving. “But if less people are driving, what should we do with the extra parking space?” says Whitt. “We may never get there because people of a certain age will continue to drive their vehicle, but this will likely be a dilemma down the road.”

Whitt says Millennials are not only concerned with the building itself, but also with the ambiance of the property, and whether it is representative of the brand of companies in that space. “Amenities will shift depending on the tenants. We’re now seeing companies flocking to properties with complementary businesses in the same building; they prefer to be together to leverage off each other in order to advance both of their businesses.”  This community-based approach has spread from Silicon Valley to Crystal City, VA where numerous startups operating in emerging industries are thriving.