With Certainty In Short Supply, Brokers And Tenants Need Flexible Partners, Not Just Flex Space

Concerns about competition, regulations or the economy can keep a business owner awake at night, but at least those are challenges they can plan for.

What’s more concerning after these two tumultuous years, however, is the unknown. Specifically, will Covid-19 roar back this winter and further delay the long-expected return to office?

“Companies have that fear of the unknown, of ‘how will my business change or be impacted or what could happen if Covid-19 comes back stronger,’” said Rhonda Fleming Gazaway, executive director of sales for Expansive, a nationwide provider of workspace solutions. “There is a huge need to reduce that risk, and it helps to work with a partner that itself is flexible in the solutions it can offer, no matter what challenge a client or broker is trying to solve."

To help them operate through periods of uncertainty, many organizations are looking for scalable workspace solutions that allow them to adjust quickly to change, she said. A CBRE survey earlier this year found that almost 70% of large companies ranked flexible office space as a top office building amenity, although the commercial real estate services and investment company said flex space now accounts for less than 2% of office space nationally. 

Not long ago, that strong embrace of flex options might have been surprising, but flex industry veteran Gazaway said the uncertainty of the Covid-19 era has opened more minds to flexible work arrangements.

“Never have I seen the wave of interest in flexible work solutions and workspace options as I see right now,” Gazaway said. “And I think it's simply because businesses have figured out that we can work flexibly, we can work remotely and we can work in a hybrid fashion.” 

Gazaway said that the concept of “flexibility” today encompasses more than just shared space or short-term office solutions. Space providers, she said, must themselves demonstrate flexibility in their ability to meet the evolving needs of brokers and their clients. Expansive has an advantage here, Gazaway said, because it acts as a space developer, owner and operator all in one.

It is not just the private sector, either, that is embracing flexible work solutions. In August, Expansive was one of five firms that won a $50M contract to provide flexible coworking spaces for government employees. Gazaway noted that the contract is significant because the client, the General Services Administration, serves as the office manager for the federal government and is responsible for more than 2 million employees and a 700M SF real estate portfolio.

“We will be providing flexible workspace to federal employees when they're coming back to work in the first quarter of 2022,” she said. “But even before the pandemic, the government was adopting a work-from-home and work-from-anywhere kind of mentality to help it reduce costs, improve productivity and enhance morale.”

With organizations of all sorts opening up to flexible work solutions, the question for them — whether they are a startup business with a handful of full-time employees or a massive federal bureaucracy — is which workspace option works best for their unique needs?

Every company is different, Gazaway said, which is why Expansive offers a wide range of solutions. These can include a hoteling-type setup that allows a large firm to reduce overhead while gaining office space for hundreds of employees, or a suite-type arrangement that provides the space and amenities a small business might need to grow.

Unlike flex providers that lease space from other landlords, Expansive owns more than 40 of its own buildings totaling 3.8M SF, Gazaway said. This empowers the company to be more flexible in the options it offers clients. 

“Because we're both the owner and developer of our buildings, we get to customize the space for the client, whether they need a full floor, multiple floors or a single suite,” Gazaway said. “We're a one-stop shop and that's very attractive for a broker or a tenant. We can also deliver spaces at a 20% to 30% discount because we design for cost and amortize over more square footage.” 

She cited a cybersecurity firm based in California that had a variety of needs, ranging from the installation of EV charging stations in the building’s garage to the ability to accommodate a fast-growing workforce. Expansive’s in-house development, project management and technology teams created a plan to meet this client’s immediate needs that also could accommodate future growth scenarios, Gazaway said.

Expansive also offers training rooms, storage solutions for clients’ equipment and supplies, and venue options for their meetings and events. 

“The object is to create environments so that companies can work exactly how they want to work,” Gazaway said. “It’s not just selling square feet; it’s selling a work environment that allows the customer to grow their business and thrive.”

No matter what unknowns businesses might contend with in the future, she said flex space options are fast becoming a must-have for any organization.

“I think 2022 is going to be a big year for our industry as businesses continue to embrace flexibility and scalability that allows them to buy the space they need today and not have to predict the future,” Gazaway said. “I do believe there won't be a lot of buildings that don't offer flex options in some form or fashion.”

This article was produced in collaboration between Studio B and Expansive. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.

Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to studio@bisnow.com.