Hottest Office Amenities: Dogs, Bikes and Cell Service

Those are among the amenities taking center stage in today's leasing talks, according to Cousins SVP Tim Hendricks, who'll be speaking at Bisnow’s Austin Office of the Future on Feb. 26 at the Hyatt Regency, starting at 7:30am.

In fact, bikes and dogs are becoming more important in office leasing talks than signage to some tech companies, Tim tells us. Developers used to put in bike racks because the City made you, but no one used them; now they’re popular. Cousins’ Colorado Tower has a secured bike locker area in the garage with the capacity to handle 30 bicycles. As for the nationwide trend of allowing pets at work, Tim’s fully on board — he’s a dog lover. Above, Tim’s in front of the mural at Colorado Tower's construction walkways with artist Lucas Akoi. (The walkways and mural are gone now; the building delivered in December.)

Tim tells us it’s important to have dedicated amenities space for all tenants’ because companies are densifying their offices, leaving less room for perks within their own space. His team spends a lot of time, money and energy designing common areas with conference rooms, first-class fitness centers, etc. But there’s one amenity that shouldn’t have a dedicated place: Tim says your entire building must be cellphone friendly (there shouldn’t be anywhere you’d drop a call), and public spaces should have WiFi. Tim's got proof his techniques work — Colorado Tower is 96% leased. Cousins' next project is the under construction Research Park Plaza V. (Rendered above, it'll deliver in Q4.) To hear more, please join us for Bisnow’s Austin Office of the Future on Feb. 26 at the Hyatt Regency, starting at 7:30am. Register here!