Forget what Millennials think. Developer Dennis Cruzan, a featured panelist at our 2nd Annual San Diego State of the Market on March 12, is focusing on collaborative office space for multiple generations.

Dennis tells us the biggest and most exciting trend in the market is that companies are changing how they use office space. In short, companies are looking at more open floor plans that allow employees of all levels to mingle and collaborate. And that's regardless of whether the staffing thrust encompasses Millennials—perhaps the generation most courted by current developers—or Baby Boomers, or Inbetweeners. It's about “people,” he says.

That also means traditional office projects need to incorporate more amenities, especially those in the suburbs, which in the past have been islands unto themselves. “Going forward, it will be a focus of ours,” Dennis says. Case in point: Cruzan is currently working on MAKE, a 175k SF office redevelopment at 5600 Avenida Encinas in Carlsbad that will transform the former Floral Trade Center into a multi-tenant office environment complete with a fitness center, a cafe, and surfboard and bike lockers overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Cruzan's investments in San Diego are “very micro-market and often building specific,” he says. The key is to buy at a market basis that allows the company to add value to implement its business plan.

Dennis will join an all-star lineup of speakers at our 2nd Annual San Diego State of the Market, including Douglas Wilson Cos' Doug Wilson (here), Pathfinder Partners' Mitch Siegler, Voit Real Estate's Eric Northbrook, Meridian Capital Group's Seth Grossman and Kilroy Realty's Jamas Gwilliam. To hear more, please join us on March 12, 8am, at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront (sign up here).