51–60 of 129 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
>We need neighborhoods that people want to be in for reasons other than work! Every other reason eventually boils down to this very point. Turns out, specialized districts were a massive city planning mistake.
Dunno. I don’t need a cement plant on my block.
I’ve been a remote engineer for over a decade, but only recently switched to a hybrid schedule on Tuesdays and Thursdays. IMO, these two days are effectively useless for any kind of productive technical work. There are simply too many visual distractions, interruptions, and a complete lack of comfort in an office. …But I do enjoy these in-office days for what they make up for in remote work: Face to face chats; Real…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Isn’t the problem that there is more empty space than needed now so the rents *should* fall?
Retail != Office Retail rent will fall because nobody is in the offices. Retail business will close because of less traffic, and thus there will be more space. But, retail leases are typically 5-10+ years. Why would a landlord lower the rent now to a small business and get stuck in a long lease, when they don't know if the office space will recover and the big businesses will want to come back? It is a game of chicke…
Also, at the beginning of Covid, several big businesses just refused to pay retail rent as a negotiating tactic. It would not surprise me if that happens again.
Anyway, it’s still shuttered, so good luck with that plan.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> exists for the sole purpose of flying people in to meet in person. Less a thriving center for tech. More a default place for leadership to get everyone together. Right. In which case you may as well meet at an airport hotel with good meeting rooms. Maybe there is a market for that. Repurpose under-utilized indoor malls as business conference centers where teams meet once or twice a week. Malls have plenty of space,…
A few malls are trying this. I called my local mall to use their little event space (think 60 folding chairs and a podium in a 900 sqft box). No call back. I am continually surprised at how hard it is to find a place to hold a small meetup in the evenings
not something you'd use for formal business meetings, but definitely hackable up as your budget allows
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Easier said than done. Limited space == Higher rent. People are downvoting me, but not really understanding what I'm saying. Even if there is more empty space, what is happening is that landlords are leaving them empty, which keeps the rents higher because there is still limited effective availability. They aren't going to rent to a small business because they don't want to get locked into a 5-10 year lease on a smal…
Space may be limited but it's not utilized. In my local metro's business district around 60% of storefronts are sitting vacant and yet rent for these spaces is still astronomical. And it's been that way since 2020. The push for a return to the office is a clear cash grab.
I’ve been a remote engineer for over a decade, but only recently switched to a hybrid schedule on Tuesdays and Thursdays. IMO, these two days are effectively useless for any kind of productive technical work. There are simply too many visual distractions, interruptions, and a complete lack of comfort in an office. …But I do enjoy these in-office days for what they make up for in remote work: Face to face chats; Real…
Isn't this a problem even for coming into the office 2 days a week?
My experience is that I work on a team which is really distributed. We have people in nearly every continent (including Africa and South America, but not Antarctica), so getting to an office 2 days a week is not an option. We have regular video conferences though.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Retail != Office Retail rent will fall because nobody is in the offices. Retail business will close because of less traffic, and thus there will be more space. But, retail leases are typically 5-10+ years. Why would a landlord lower the rent now to a small business and get stuck in a long lease, when they don't know if the office space will recover and the big businesses will want to come back? It is a game of chicke…
A lot of those five-year contracts were negotiated before Covid and I suspect they will expire in the next year or two. After a certain point, the building owner will have to choose between lowering rents, or having the building foreclosed on due to having no tenants. Also, at the beginning of Covid, several big businesses just refused to pay retail rent as a negotiating tactic. It would not surprise me if that happe…
"Why would a landlord lower the rent now to a small business"
now.