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US offices are sitting empty – business owners will have to adapt

theguardian.com

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Re: US offices are sitting empty – business owners will have to adapt

#111

Post by phpisthebest »

rhaway84773 wrote: post #104
lotsofpulp wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Grocery stores around the corner do not work in spread out neighborhoods because the Krogers/Costcos/Albertsons/Walmarts will be able to offer lower price due economies of scale, and anyone with a car will choose to drive 10min, or stop on their way home, to save money rather than go to the higher priced grocery store around the corner.

Do you think larger grocery stores don’t exist in city downtowns? I searched for Whole Foods locations and they seem to have about 13 in Manhattan itself. There’s a Costco in Manhattan. And there are several other major grocery stores some unique to New York. There are also large independent grocery stores and independent online grocery stores that will do hourly deliveries (the 15 mins deliveries thankfully seem to…

Clearly you did not read the parent comment.

They work in Manhatten because of population density, the grand parent clearly said they do not work in "spread out neighborhoods"

So now we are shifting the goal posts from "walk-able neighborhoods" to walkbale high density neighborhoods. Not only do I oppose walkablity I also oppose High Density, I like my Single Family home on .75 acres of land or less.

I do not want to live stacked on top of others, if you want that stay in NYC. thanks

Re: US offices are sitting empty – business owners will have to adapt

#112

Post by fragmede »

bombcar wrote: post #94
BenFranklin100 wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A reason downtown Houston may “suck” is because there are too few homes and thus it becomes a wasteland on the weekends and evenings. Mixed use districts with high density of residential will draw in stores, nightlife venues, and restaurants. It will also drive demand for bike and mass transit. Moreover, there are many urban downtowns that don’t “suck’, such as Boston and NYC that are still facing a challenging comme…

Downtowns have been revitalized and saved, it's quite possible and there are examples. Often it involves something like building a stadium or convention center or other attraction, which makes dwelling units nearby desirable. San Diego's gaslamp quarter is an example.

Where is Detroit in this example?

Re: US offices are sitting empty – business owners will have to adapt

#113

Post by lamontcg »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #69
latchkey wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's because we are in a game of chicken right now.

I think it is because property (specifically land value) taxes are far too low. The under taxation of land results in land owners squatting on it without doing anything that society benefits from.

It is also because loans are still locked in to ZIRP-era rates. That keeps the cost of capital low and businesses that own those properties have a lot of room for them to be wildly unprofitable. It will take awhile for those loans to roll over to higher rates.

Re: US offices are sitting empty – business owners will have to adapt

#114

Post by bombcar »

fragmede wrote: post #112
bombcar wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Downtowns have been revitalized and saved, it's quite possible and there are examples. Often it involves something like building a stadium or convention center or other attraction, which makes dwelling units nearby desirable. San Diego's gaslamp quarter is an example.

Where is Detroit in this example?

Making Cleveland look good.

Detroit's problems aren't locational, they're otherwise (as can be seen by the cities that are (technically) not Detroit but right outside it doing pretty well.

Re: US offices are sitting empty – business owners will have to adapt

#115

Post by vr46 »

bombcar wrote: post #92
vr46 wrote: post #56

About three or four years ago, I asked the owners of a closed-down department store if we could turn a big chunk of the 4-5 storey section into a climbing wall and was told to F-off as they had bigger plans for a new commercial centre with mixed-work and retail. Anyway, it’s still shuttered, so good luck with that plan.

They do not want to deviate from the standard because it might possibly threaten something, so they're very conservative. Find one that's willing to have a Spirit Halloween store in it and you might find them more receptive.

They’re avaricious bastards, it’s what they are. Huge, vast amounts of money flows through businesses and straight to landlords in London, strangling investment in small businesses, their employees and the wider economy. Businesses with high margins, low inventory and low unskilled staffing costs win.

In Germany, I note that thousands of small businesses flourish that vanished from London’s streets - I have a choice of places to have a kitchen knife sharpened, for example - and while London holds vast opportunity, I fear that its breadth is severely constricted and whole areas of industry, skills and expertise are effectively extinct as the startup Capex is too high, and the Opex is vampiric.

Re: US offices are sitting empty – business owners will have to adapt

#116

Post by latchkey »

fragmede wrote: post #108
latchkey wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I opened a night club on a block in SF that had lots of other bars. Unfortunately, we also picked the one spot on the block that was also next door to a liquor store. I can't tell you how much that cost us because people would just go next door, get a small bottle of something for cheap, down it while they were out on their smoke break and then come back to the show in my place. It really sucked honestly.

Which one? Butter? The moves California ABC made during Covid were interesting.

Same block. I have stories about the ABC for days, evil evil humans work there. If meter maids had a place to graduate to, this is where they go.

Re: US offices are sitting empty – business owners will have to adapt

#117

Post by HWR_14 »

latchkey wrote: post #106
HWR_14 wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The usual solution to that is that someone (maybe the owner of many buildings in an area) finds several tenants to open at the same time, and thus tries to produce a retail destination. So no one wants to open a bar near 30 empty offices, but if I tell you I am getting 4 restaurants, 3 art galleries, another bar and a theater to all open in the same area than you all can feed off each other. Or instead of a lot of li…

I opened a night club on a block in SF that had lots of other bars. Unfortunately, we also picked the one spot on the block that was also next door to a liquor store. I can't tell you how much that cost us because people would just go next door, get a small bottle of something for cheap, down it while they were out on their smoke break and then come back to the show in my place. It really sucked honestly.

I can see how that's bad placement. Did you try a cover with no-reentry to at least cut down on that?

But, yeah, it can be harmful like that or positive in that maybe there are restaurants next door where people eat before they come to your bar for drinks and a show.

Re: US offices are sitting empty – business owners will have to adapt

#118

Post by bombcar »

vr46 wrote: post #115
bombcar wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They do not want to deviate from the standard because it might possibly threaten something, so they're very conservative. Find one that's willing to have a Spirit Halloween store in it and you might find them more receptive.

They’re avaricious bastards, it’s what they are. Huge, vast amounts of money flows through businesses and straight to landlords in London, strangling investment in small businesses, their employees and the wider economy. Businesses with high margins, low inventory and low unskilled staffing costs win. In Germany, I note that thousands of small businesses flourish that vanished from London’s streets - I have a choice…

It's the definition of rent-seeking, literally.

And it's hard to counter-act in high-density areas; without deliberate action everything becomes McDonalds or financial businesses.

Re: US offices are sitting empty – business owners will have to adapt

#119

Post by ImPostingOnHN »

latchkey wrote: post #105
ImPostingOnHN wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Nobody is going to rent ground floor retail space in an area with no foot traffic of course they will, at a low enough rent, obviously, which is the point: lowering rent is indeed a choice, as is going bankrupt, abandoning the property, foreclosure, or selling it at whatever price

There is a ground floor retail spot near my house with a for-rent sign on the front, that has been empty for years. People have their reasons.

in that case, the reason is that the owner failed to lower rent, declare bankruptcy, abandon the property, get foreclosed on, or sell the property

let the owner rent it for a dollar a month and we'll see if it gets rented

Re: US offices are sitting empty – business owners will have to adapt

#120

Post by latchkey »

ImPostingOnHN wrote: post #119
latchkey wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a ground floor retail spot near my house with a for-rent sign on the front, that has been empty for years. People have their reasons.

in that case, the reason is that the owner failed to lower rent, declare bankruptcy, abandon the property, get foreclosed on, or sell the property let the owner rent it for a dollar a month and we'll see if it gets rented

You left out one other case... the owner wants a specific tenant or in the example that started this whole thread, a Chipotle.
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