From cubicle farm to graveyard
Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports: Companies reconfigure surplus office space as work force shrinks.
From the 30th floor of Centennial Tower in downtown Atlanta, employees at Gensler architectural firm have a breathtaking view of the Atlanta skyline.
Lately, though, that panorama offers two different views at once: a soaring collection of buildings that define the city, and an office market you wouldn’t wish on Birmingham. A vacancy rate of 20 percent this summer is not out of the question. In good times, vacancies run between 12 and 14 percent.
A year ago, Gensler occupied 17,000 square feet of office space. But layoffs and realignments earlier this year left the company with 3,000 square feet of open space —- little desert islands inhabited only by silent workstations. Instead of moving the firm, Gensler moved the furniture, separating its workers from its unused workstations.
“All the empties are at one end; 80 percent of our space is occupied, so it feels full,” said Stephen Swicegood, managing director of Gensler’s Atlanta office. “There’s nothing more depressing than walking on a floor that used to be full of workers, and now there’s only half the seats that are occupied. You lose energy that way. There’s no buzz.”
It’s a notable turn for a firm that has built a reputation helping other companies make good use of their space. It also illustrates corporate America’s dilemma: At many companies, two years of punishing layoffs have transformed the cubicle farm into a cubicle graveyard. Because real estate is a fixed cost, holding more of it than your company needs affects the bottom line.
Nationally, a lot of landlords are finding themselves with a surplus of space. Nearly $9 billion worth of distressed office assets —- 211 properties —- are on the market. That list continues to grow by more than 30 properties a month, according to Real Capital Analytics, a commercial real estate research and consulting company.
View the full article on Atlanta Journal-Constitution: From cubicle farm to graveyard
Posted by: Matthew Stone