The old suburban office park is the new American ghost town • Hacker News Board

Re: The old suburban office park is the new American ghost town

#71

Post by Shivetya » Tue, Jul 21, 2015, 5:13 PM UTC

pmorici wrote: post #30

I think this article perhaps misses the real story. That being, office parks first built in 25+ years ago are reaching an age where their long term leases are expiring and they need to be renovated for the first time since being constructed to attract new tenants. While it makes sense to renovate an old factory and turn it into trendy office space with exposed brick and vintage architectural details from decades past…

One common occurrence where I live is that county and cities are buying up the old office parks and even strip malls to convert them into government buildings. Most are ideally located as well as being offered up for sale cheaply. Seen even a few charitable organizations buy up parts of a strip mall for the cheap space by square foot.

Besides the age a lot of REITs cashed out awhile ago and I am not sure the market is there. Plus people are even further out and those who tended to move had the means to do so and their spending went with them.

Suburbia certainly isn't dieing.

Re: The old suburban office park is the new American ghost town

#72

Post by astrocyte » Tue, Jul 21, 2015, 5:15 PM UTC

happyscrappy wrote: post #58

astrocyte wrote: post #34

All of this works in cycles. There once was a time when people were flocking to the suburbs. Now, it is fashionable to live in the city. This too will pass when people (a generation maybe) comes to understand the little value obtained from all the chaos and activity. What are people chasing? Technology has made it easier to be in touch and socialize w/ people beyond physical geography. Transportation is getting bette…

>Now, it is fashionable to live in the city. This too will pass Yes, when you decide to have children.

Or, when a generation who flocked to it, realizes it wasn't all that instrumental to their formation .. Just served as years of noise and chaos. So, they'll flee the city in droves , set up in the suburbs and then suburbs will be all the rage for young people hoping to have a more peaceful (involved) experience beyond the hustle and bustle of the city...

You say that will never happen? It already has and will again. It's the reason why there are seas of built up suburbs and a generation of kids and their kids who grew up in them.

There are cycles that exist beyond you... And sure, when you age and have had all your 'experiences', you get to reflect on which ones were of most value and you try to provide those for your kids. Of all my years of partying/being in the city and living it to its fullest, my biggest take-a-way was : I'm glad I experienced it enough to know I have no grand desire for what a city has to offer.

Re: The old suburban office park is the new American ghost town

#73

Post by mattbrewsbytes » Tue, Jul 21, 2015, 5:16 PM UTC

I wonder if any of the real estate owners have considered applying for a dual-zone - residential and commerical. Then rehab the building into part offices for smaller businesses and apartments of some kind.

If you get enough of these clustered together then you start to have little urban-like communities instead of miles of office parks. Sprinkle in restaurants, dry cleaner, gym, etc. and you might attract enough tenants to turn it around. Better than being vacant.

Re: The old suburban office park is the new American ghost town

#74

Post by exstudent2 » Tue, Jul 21, 2015, 5:16 PM UTC

jobu wrote: post #70

exstudent2 wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder if increased urban demand pushing up housing costs in metro areas will eventually cause a reverse migration back to the suburbs (facilitated by telecommuting).

There's also increased demand for "walkable" neighborhoods in suburban areas. Higher density housing with grocery stores, doctor's offices, restaurants, and bars all in a single development.

I think there's potential for all of that to come into the suburbs since it will eventually be so cheap to live there. Artists and squatters can turn these abandon office parks into co-ops and urban farms :)

Re: The old suburban office park is the new American ghost town

#75

Post by swalsh » Tue, Jul 21, 2015, 5:16 PM UTC

My ideal would be a house on a lake, it would have a sufficient space for my son to play outside, and It would also have a high speed internet connection, which I could use to work etc.

Before there was telecommuting, there was commuting. What people with families ultimately want is more space. Grilling out, kids in the sandbox, etc. It's all focused on spending time with kids.

Commuting enabled this "country like lifestyle", while keeping the "city benefits" of a good job, and easy access to decent restaurants. As traffic grew though, the definition of commuting changed. This is where office parts came from, and it's also where chain restaurants came from. Going downtown was not an option any more for shopping (parking!? argh). But there's this mall just a mile up the road. Of course with a limited audience of families (the single people still saw the benefit of living in a city), with limited time and money. Chains are great answers.

Re: The old suburban office park is the new American ghost town

#76

Post by exstudent2 » Tue, Jul 21, 2015, 5:17 PM UTC

johnward wrote: post #67

exstudent2 wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder if increased urban demand pushing up housing costs in metro areas will eventually cause a reverse migration back to the suburbs (facilitated by telecommuting).

Increase telecommuting would solve a lot of the transportation problems. I've been full-time remote for awhile now. I turned down an offer that was almost double my current salary because I don't want to commute.

Agree, I'm the same way. I insist on being paid the same as people who live in the city though. My value doesn't change just because I live in a cheaper place.

Re: The old suburban office park is the new American ghost town

#77

Post by jn1234 » Tue, Jul 21, 2015, 5:17 PM UTC

jobu wrote: post #6

stephengillie wrote: post #2

> There are 71.5 million square feet of vacant office space in the Washington region, much of it piled in office parks. > Last year, federal agencies vacated 7,315 buildings, abandoning 47 million square feet of office and warehouse space, Federal News Radio says. So the amount of vacant space in the area tripled last year, going from 24 million SQFT to 71.5 million SQFT? --- > Another 1 million square feet of office…

The article doesn't have any concrete numbers for where companies are moving, but it does offer this: "People telecommute. People move into the city or into faux-urban areas that are friendlier to pedestrians, that aren’t barnacled on a highway. Younger generations don’t want to be stranded in a “Dilbert” cartoon. They want cozy nooks and nap spaces, walkable commutes, the tastes and conveniences of the city."

> Younger generations don’t want to be stranded in a “Dilbert” cartoon.

That's funny because Dilbert now almost exclusively deals with tech. This is from the Dilbert's author's blog http://scottadams-tttt.tumblr.com/post/124285032091/top-tech...

Re: The old suburban office park is the new American ghost town

#78

Post by Yhippa » Tue, Jul 21, 2015, 5:17 PM UTC

macNchz wrote: post #23

My girlfriend worked for a 'beltway bandit' in Rockville Maryland for a while after college, exactly in the midst of the office parks described in this article. Everything about the environment of metro-DC suburban Maryland was absolutely repellent to me. Miles and miles of office parks, housing developments and strip malls, over and over and over. I couldn't stand the idea of having a daily routine of sitting in 8 l…

I've been all over the US for consulting work and this scene is everywhere you go.

Re: The old suburban office park is the new American ghost town

#79

Post by rhino369 » Tue, Jul 21, 2015, 5:17 PM UTC

macNchz wrote: post #23

My girlfriend worked for a 'beltway bandit' in Rockville Maryland for a while after college, exactly in the midst of the office parks described in this article. Everything about the environment of metro-DC suburban Maryland was absolutely repellent to me. Miles and miles of office parks, housing developments and strip malls, over and over and over. I couldn't stand the idea of having a daily routine of sitting in 8 l…

The problem in Maryland is that the urban office spaces in DC are essentially just big ass office parks. Just a bunch of ugly ass 12 story, monstrosities.

I guess you get better lunch options. But personally I'd rather live in a cool place and commute to some boring ass office park.

That said--the cool areas in DC are pretty small and expensive. The average worker can't afford that with a family.

Re: The old suburban office park is the new American ghost town

#80

Post by marssaxman » Tue, Jul 21, 2015, 5:17 PM UTC

api wrote: post #42

Semiapies wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I look forward to this industry realizing everything doesn't have to happen in SF.

Network effects are powerful. Silicon Valley largely runs (today) on monetizing network effects, and network effects are also why Silicon Valley is all concentrated in the Bay Area. The primary factor is concentration of capital: it is exponentially easier to raise money in the Bay. The second is concentration of talent and peers -- early customers, beta testers, development partners. The Internet was supposed to mak…

I've noticed the same thing, but interpreted it as an effect of political alienation during the Bush years. The post-9/11 freakout and series of military misadventures left me feeling like there is really no such thing as America; the America I live in consists of its high-density coastal cities and nothing more, all the rest being driven by a foreign culture I don't like or belong to.