Moving into a new office space is an exciting moment for any company. There’s so much to look forward to: better amenities and views, a different commute and neighborhood, plus space to grow. To find the perfect spot, there’s a lot to consider — our new office space checklist is a great place to kick off your search.
1. Location
It goes without saying that location is the most important factor for any office space. To be successful, businesses should be easily accessible to clients, their employees, and vendors. Provided your team works 40 hours a week, they’ll be spending about 30% of their lives in and around your office. Having a few go-to places to grab coffee and lunch, drugstore essentials, or fit in a quick workout can make a huge difference for your team’s happiness and productivity. Consider safety in the neighborhood, too — your team will want to feel safe walking from the office on breaks and after-hours.
Keep in mind that some companies benefit from an address near competitors or other businesses in the same industry. You may also prefer a neighborhood where you’re the only business of your kind. If foot traffic makes a difference for your bottom line, you’ll also want to consider whether your prospective location is busy during your business hours.
2. Size
If you’re shopping for a new space, you’re likely missing something in your current location. Maybe you need more room for a growing team or you’d like a better setup for taking client meetings. Maybe you're downsizing as your rethink how much office space you need with more team members working remotely following the COVID-19 pandemic. Whatever your motivation, be sure that you’re addressing those needs with adequate square footage.
3. Layout and Design
It can be helpful to list the number and types of rooms your team will need for their day-to-day (conference rooms, phone booths, open collaborative space, reception area, kitchen, bathrooms). Once you have a list, compare it with available floor plans. Be sure to plan for your company’s future hires, too!
4. Condition
Offices come in varying conditions, from "white box" shells to fully-designed spaces. There are pros and cons to each. Here's an intro to what you might see on the market:
- Shell spaces are as basic as they come. You get walls, floors, windows, and a roof over your head, but not much else. Shell spaces are great for anyone who wants complete control over how their new space will look. They're often new builds. HVAC, electrical, and plumbing may be installed, but the sky's the limit. Improvements you make will stay with the building, so owners may offer you more money to make changes. This budget is known as your tenant improvement allowance (TI).
- Second-generation (2nd gen) spaces have been modified by previous tenants. You can customize to suit your needs, but there's much less to do than in a shell space. This means you can move in more quickly. The downside is that you'll probably be shouldering most of the costs on your own (they tend to attract less TI allowances). Moving in ASAP is also an option as many second-generation spaces are ready to go.
- Spec spaces are pre-designed for immediate move-in. Owners decide how to arrange spaces by anticipating their future tenant's needs. You'll most likely see spec spaces in new and existing buildings. Few, if any, renovations are necessary, and some spec spaces even come furnished.
5. Public Transportation
You might find what seems like a perfect space, but if it’s difficult to reach for the majority of your team, it’s not a good fit. Any offices you consider should be accessible by public transportation and by car. Train and bus route maps are a great place to start — check to see how many lines pass through and how often they run. Don't forget to think about business travel, too. Will clients and teammates be able to reach your new office from the airport?
Remember that most people have been working from home for over two years now. In the aftermath of COVID-19, it’s more important than ever to make it easy for your employees to come into the office.
Inc. sums it up best: “No matter how much you love your job or your home, a long commute will make you unhappy.” Remember to keep commutes as simple as possible — that's exactly what remote workers will be hoping for as they return to the office.
6. Parking
Commuters have a different set of needs altogether. Find out if your new office has a garage, onsite, or paid street parking. If your space doesn't include onsite parking, look for nearby garages that sell daily and monthly passes.
7. Tenant Experience
It’s typical for buildings to offer on-site amenities that make a huge impact on your team’s satisfaction. For example, VTS Activate provides ways for tenants to badge into the building with a mobile device. VTS Activate also offers automated visitor passes and package notifications for any deliveries to the building.
Other types of amenities like this include 24/7 security, after-hours access, on-site fitness and wellness facilities, laundry, valet services, COVID-19 safety measures, and common spaces. In fact, VTS recently conducted a survey of office tenants and many of these came up as top features and amenities respondents cared about most in an office space.
As you compare properties, remember to weigh factors like parking, utilities, maintenance, reception, cleaning, security, or insurance, although many buildings include these features as amenities.
8. Amenities and Perks
Benefits extend even further with tenant experience apps like VTS Activate. Your office may be able to plug into your building’s community with a virtual marketplace, promoted events, and local discounts at a variety of restaurants, coffee shops, and hotels.
The takeaway
There’s a lot to consider when shopping for a new office space, but working with a tenant rep broker can help simplify the process. Together, you can partner to weigh all these factors and to prioritize which characteristics are most important to you in your new office space. A broker can even help you prepare for touring spaces in person, so you’ll be guaranteed that your next office space will meet your every need.
