Creating Real Estate Value with Commercial Office Reconstruction
course credit: 1.0 AIA LU/HSW 
The commercial office sector shows few signs of slowing down. According to a 2017 end-of-year survey from real estate firm Transwestern, fourth-quarter vacancy rates in the U.S. landed at 11.5%, the lowest in 10 years, even as average asking rents continue to rise. As leading market drivers like the so-called TAMI sector—technology, advertising, media, and information—push demand for differentiated, amenity-centric, and tenant-focused office product, one might think that older buildings are at a disadvantage. Savvy Building Teams say that’s not always the case.
In fact, from San Francisco to Boston, from New York to Chicago, leading owners, developers, and project teams are employing thoughtful upgrades to older buildings to create meaningful spaces that help attract and retain top tenants—and their best people. Six common strategies used by these Building Teams help address competitive pressures and deliver more attractive offerings with renovated and reconstructed commercial developments.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After reading this article, you should be able to:
+ DESCRIBE how market dynamics and local codes are changing the needs for adaptive-reuse projects.
+ UNDERSTAND office building end-user preferences for amenities.
+ LIST the factors in planning upgrades of older buildings and historic landmarks.
+ DISCUSS approaches to improving existing office buildings that leverage technology and reduce energy use.
More Campus Related Content
Interior design/Interior architecture
U.S. healthcare building sector trends and innovations for 2024-2025
As new medicines, treatment regimens, and clinical protocols radically alter the medical world, facilities and building environments in which they…
course credit: 1.0 AIA LU/HSW
Provided By: BD+C
Structural
Waterproofing deep foundations for new construction
Below-grade waterproofing systems can be critical features of building enclosure design, particularly when the structure has a deep foundation. As…
course credit: 1.0 AIA LU/HSW
Interior design/Interior architecture
Performance-based facilities for performing arts boost the bottom line
New technologies, innovations, and tools are opening doors for building teams interested in better and yet less-expensive performing arts facilities…
course credit: 1.0 AIA LU
Exterior
For the Multifamily Sector, Product Innovations Boost Design and Construction Success
It seems fitting that wider adoption of thin-shell concrete, a technology popular worldwide but somehow unfavored in the U.S., has resulted from the…
course credit: 1.0 AIA LU/HSW
Provided By: BD+C
Exterior
Fire safety considerations for cantilevered buildings [AIA course]
Cantilevered buildings seem to be everywhere in New York City these days, as developers and architects strive to maximize space, views, and natural…
course credit: 1.0 AIA LU/HSW
Provided By: BD+C
Exterior
4 steps to a better building enclosure
Dividing the outside environment from the interior, the building enclosure is one of the most important parts of the structure. The enclosure not…
course credit: 1.0 AIA LU/HSW
Provided By: BD+C
With affordability and innovation for all: Multifamily housing ideas break barriers
With a growing need for multifamily housing solutions at all income levels, the U.S. market is seeing a proliferation of inventive projects.…
course credit: 1.0 AIA LU/HSW
Provided By: BD+C
Exterior
Metal cladding trends and innovations
Metal cladding is on a growth trajectory globally. This is reflected in rising demand for rainscreen cladding, which market research firm VMR values…
course credit: 1.0 AIA LU
Provided By: BD+C
Structural
Flood protection: What building owners need to know to protect their properties
Historically, flooding is one of the costliest natural disasters in the United States on an annual basis. Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) attempt…
course credit: 1.0 AIA LU/HSW
Provided By: BD+C
Multifamily housing/Apartments/Condominiums
Urban housing revival: 3 creative multifamily housing renovations
Bruner/Cott’s AIA award-winning inaugural project, the 1974 transformation of Boston’s expiring Chickering & Sons Piano Factory into the Piano…
