My commercial property tour in Waltham this week revealed two separate Class A office
building complexes – both with blockaded parking areas! This is the first time I have seen
anything like this in this market area. First we have had employee vacant desks and empty
building parking lots – and now parking lots are being barricaded! This is most likely for security reasons because tenants are not using the lots for employee parking. This highlights how the Pandemic has changed the dynamics and economics of the use of office space and the properties associated with tenants not occupying buildings. On another recent tour of the CrossPoint towers at the intersection of Rt. 3 and Rt 495 – where the one million plus square feet of office space is barely occupied and the parking lot is mostly vacant – the property manager mentioned one bright spot from his perspective – the buildings are using a lot less electricity and this is a big savings on the building’s operational expenses!
Soon these affects from an unforeseen pandemic will pass – and we will have increased office building occupancy and full parking lots again – but for now we need to continue to abide by healthcare professional safety recommendations, continue to work hard at our home offices, and prepare for a return to our corporate offices where we can interact with fellow employees in-person again and continue to collaborate, innovate, and provides services and products for the future as we have done in the past.
For Tenant office space decisions makers now is the time to negotiate for office space and lease terms for the future – because when the desks are re-occupied and the parking lots are not barricaded and full again, it will be much more difficult to lease cost effective office space as there will be fewer options and it will be more expensive. Now is a time for action!