Page 14 - Issue 45 Sept2020

12 SEPTEMBER 2020
Jose Lozano
ON DISPLAY
Tenant interest in ‘hub-and-spoke’ model brings added focus to New Jersey’s new-look office stock
The world of economic development was understandably quiet in March and April. But Jose Lozano, the CEO and president
of Choose New Jersey, said that began to change as spring turned to summer, as businesses weighed how to move forward amid the pandemic.
“By the end of May and June, I think there
inquire and getting a sense of what the inventory was and what the world was looking like in New Jersey — the cost and the size, and availability.”
Lozano spoke in early August
during a virtual roundtable hosted by the business attraction agency, highlighting a trend that seemed a possibility at the start of the health crisis and may now be coming to fruition: A growing number of New York City-based firms are seeking satellite locations in the suburbs, albeit at shorter lease terms, in an effort to reduce density at the office, keep employees closer to home and reduce their reliance on mass transit.
The movement has helped owners and brokers bide their time as they mull the long-term future of the physical
workplace. In the interim, insiders say it’s a chance to showcase New Jersey’s growing stock of revamped and rejuvenated office buildings.
“I think you’re actually going to see
a spike in rental rates because of a flight to quality that’s been ongoing for years to attract
talent,” said Tim
Greiner, a broker
and executive
managing
director in JLL’s
New Jersey
office. “It’s now
not only to
attract talent,
but to make them feel safe in their environment. So I think those owners that are forward-thinking, that have
great sites or great buildings that are under renovation are going to do really well.”
Speaking during the Aug. 4 program, Greiner said his team has seen financial services firms “lead the way in terms of creating outposts
in New Jersey.” JLL at the time was negotiating a 25,000-square-foot sublease in Short Hills with a firm that was based in Lower Manhattan, he said, along with another deal in which a hedge fund was taking space in Bridgewater.
“What’s in common with a couple of these transactions is that they seem to be short-term, temporary office commitments, predominantly close to (the homes of executives) who don’t want to commute into the city,”
huge flurry of activity, folks starting to
was a general consensus among leaders
in the real estate market that COVID was not going anywhere,” Lozano said. “And we saw a
Tim Greiner
By Joshua Burd
A growing number of New York City-based firms are seeking short-term office space in the suburbs, in an effort to reduce density, keep employees closer to home and reduce their reliance on mass transit. The movement has provided landlords and brokers with a chance to showcase New Jersey’s growing stock of revamped and rejuvenated office buildings.