National MarketingThe New Suburban Office
Washingtonian, September 21, 2022
As a lead broker for both Reston Town Center and downtown Columbia, Transwestern’s Alexander Hancock has an insider’s view of what employers—and their employees—want out of a suburban work experience. The days of generic office parks are, of course, long over. To entice staffers back into an office at all, says Hancock, companies are searching for vibrant environments where people can walk to shopping, lunch, and happy hour, plus access outdoor space during the workday. The proof that Reston and Columbia fit the bill, he says, is in the strong leasing activity that’s continued there even as the office market as a whole has floundered during the pandemic.
Over the past couple of years, Hancock and his team have landed several big-name tenants in Reston Town Center. In summer 2020, Microsoft grabbed 400,000 square feet at the new trophy building 2 Freedom Square. Volkswagen and Fannie Mae have also recently leased large swaths of the glassy towers called Reston Next. Starkist moved its US headquarters to Reston from Pittsburgh this year. Another strategy that the development’s landlord, Boston Properties, deployed during Covid, says Hancock, was to build out “spec suites”—a move-in-ready option ideal for companies looking to downsize to smaller, less expensive space. Hancock says he’s leased 20 of them.
After spying Hancock’s success in Reston, the Howard Hughes Corporation—the company orchestrating downtown Columbia’s massive redevelopment—hired him onto its leasing team, too. Hancock says one major draw for employers in Columbia is obvious: New office space there surrounds Merriweather Post Pavilion. On concert days, workers can hear bands warming up; on any nice day, they can enjoy the park setting.
“Companies are realizing that setting up [in locations like Reston and Columbia] gives them proximity to a large base of highly skilled workers,” says Hancock. “They’re giving them an experience in the office, and also shortening their commute from the suburbs.”
Prudential to Move into Dayton’s Project Building in Downtown Minneapolis
Star Tribune, Sept. 20. 2022
A month after selling its 75-acre Plymouth campus, Prudential Financial announced it will move into the Dayton’s Project building in Minneapolis next year, giving a much-needed lift to the downtown office sector that city boosters fear may never rebound from the pandemic.
First look: CP Group renovating 5POP, Uptown-area office tower formerly known as Five Post Oak Park
Houston Business Journal, Sept. 5, 2022
Construction work is well underway on Boca Raton, Florida-based CP Group’s $12 million renovation of5POP, a 28-story office tower in the Uptown area formerly known as Five Post Oak Park. CP Group purchased the building at4400 Post Oak Parkway in July 2021through a joint venture with Miami-based Rialto Capital. Soon thereafter, the firm broke ground on updates to the first-floor common areas and community amenities in an effort to attract new tenants.
D-FW Office Leasing and Employment Bounced Back in the Latest Quarter
Dallas Morning News, Sept. 23, 2022
North Texas office leasing continued to gain ground in the third quarter, despite a slower than expected return of workers. Net office leasing in the Dallas-Fort Worth totaled almost 660,000 square feet, according to preliminary third quarter data from commercial property firm Transwestern.
How the Interest Rate Hike Impacts Multifamily
Multi-Housing News, Sept. 22, 2022
As widely anticipated, the Federal Reserve on Wednesday afternoon again lifted the federal funds target by 75 basis points. The announcement of the rate hike is intended to both trim demand and reduce inflation over the coming months. Reaction to the announcement from observers across the multifamily industry was swift.
