Will the pandemic reduce construction of office skyscrapers long-term

[DCReid]

With many businesses encouraging employees to work at home and with the IT infrastructure in place to make home offices even more reliable and convenient,
will businesses decide that they really do not need thousands of square feet of offices in expensive cities like NY and SF? Or will office building continue but more old 'inefficient' offices be converted into other spaces, especially residential?

[10023]

Long term? No. But a lot of projects that don’t have shovels in the ground or at least financing in place are as good as dead.

[BG918]

I was talking to a colleague about this. We think this is a watershed moment for remote work and that it will become more prevalent after the pandemic. I work for a development/construction company and a significant portion of our workforce works on project sites. However the office work can be done remotely and starting tomorrow the office will be closed and all work done remotely. It remains to be seen if the jobsites will shut down.

[SFBruin]

Originally Posted by BG918

I was talking to a colleague about this. We think this is a watershed moment for remote work and that it will become more prevalent after the pandemic.

I honestly think the opposite. My mom has been working from home during this pandemic, and it seems to show just how hard working from home is.

We don't really have a home office, sometimes there are wi-fi issues, sometimes both of my moms just need to work at the same time.

I want to like wfh, with global warming and all, but it will be a good thing when the office opens up.

[SIGSEGV]

I don't know about that, remote work sucks in a lot of ways. It works well for some people but it's definitely not more productive for most. I think many people will find that it sucks that don't already know.

[BG918]

Originally Posted by SIGSEGV

I don't know about that, remote work sucks in a lot of ways. It works well for some people but it's definitely not more productive for most. I think many people will find that it sucks that don't already know.

Maybe it's a balance of both with companies supporting remote work days and employees sharing desks while "in the office". I know for me I am more productive when working away from the office, either at home or at a coffee shop (preferred). But I understand the value of actually being present especially when working with a team.

[jd3189]

Decentralization is probably a good compromise between the two. It doesn’t have to be like the suburban office parks in the 80s-00s, but having more regional centers for employment instead of putting all your eggs in one basket in a few cities that already have trouble with their limits. For all the positivity that goes with centralization, one fuck up in New York or the Bay Area can fuck up a major part of the dominant industries that are mostly located in those places.

[pdxtex]

[QUOTE=jd3189;8862996]Decentralization is probably a good compromise between the two. It doesn’t have to be like the suburban office parks in the 80s-00s, but having more regional centers for employment instead of putting all your eggs in one basket in a few cities that already have trouble with their limits. For all the positivity that goes with centralization, one fuck up in New York or the Bay Area can fuck up a major part of the dominant industries that are mostly located in those places.[/QUOTE

I think this will be one benefit we will see happen after the dust settles. A urban area of employment nodes seems like a better approach than the top down CBD...

[whatnext]

More food for thought:

Shopify Is Joining Twitter in Permanent Work-From-Home Shift
By Candy Cheng
May 21, 2020

Shopify Inc. will allow its 5,000 employees to work from home indefinitely, even after the dangers of the coronavirus pandemic fade and cities lift shutdowns.

The company plans to keep its offices largely closed for the rest of the year as it re-designs its space for a “digital by default” mindset and adjusts to a remote work environment, Tobi Lutke, chief executive officer of the Canadian e-commerce giant, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. Offices will be limited to 20% to 25% capacity after that....

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...&sref=x4rjnz06

[C.]

Originally Posted by SIGSEGV

I don't know about that, remote work sucks in a lot of ways. It works well for some people but it's definitely not more productive for most. I think many people will find that it sucks that don't already know.

A couple anecdotal experiences

A legal company in a downtown office building that assists in processing of foreclosures originally had a hostile telecommuting policy. There is a currently a staff of around 30, and the company was planning to expand their office lease to accommodate growth in the number of employees. They gruelingly allowed their employees to work from home using computers that track every keep stroke for productivity.

They found that productivity per employee has not decreased working from home, and if anything, it's become more efficient. They are no longer looking to expand their office space. They're giving up the space completely and moving to 100 percent remote operations. This is going to save the company a couple hundred thousand a year in office space.

A similar example is I know an older manager that was not supportive of telecommuting at all. The belief is people would not be working as hard at home. The manager planned daily video conference calls using Microsoft Teams at first to ensure people was working, but the increased in productivity was so evident the daily Teams meeting is no longer necessary and now the manager is the biggest proponent of working from home.

I had a few other first-hand examples, but you get the idea.

I agree this is is a watershed moment. It doesn't matter if an employee likes working from home or not. It's going to be much more efficient and cost effective for companies to allow employees to work from home where there isn't a critical need to be in the office. A lot of people I know are loving the ability to work from home when normally a company would never had sign off on such a policy but had to due to the pandemic.

Commercial Real Estate is screwed.

[mhays]

Operational capabilities aren't centralized...that's mostly leadership and invention. Data centers, back offices, etc., can run most things, aided by limited central leadership and existing contingency plans.

As for working from home, I suspect we'll see a jump up, if only a small one. Working from home isn't easy or productive in many cases. Meanwhile, to the point about offices downsizing, when companies move or renovate they tend to go with denser offices...a lot of 150-200-sf vs. the old 250, half of that being common areas, circulation, etc. I've been expecting an overall office downsizing for years.

[The North One]

No, most people don't like working from home in the first place or can't for certain reasons and are less productive or dont have all the tools they need.

The mass work from home idea has been a thing for how many decades now? Corona ain't changing this.

[dubu]

Originally Posted by The North One

No, most people don't like working from home in the first place or can't for certain reasons and are less productive or dont have all the tools they need.

The mass work from home idea has been a thing for how many decades now? Corona ain't changing this.

most people like waking up early and being stuck in traffic for hours? everyone i talk to say they wish they worked from home.

[BG918]

Originally Posted by The North One

No, most people don't like working from home in the first place or can't for certain reasons and are less productive or dont have all the tools they need.

The mass work from home idea has been a thing for how many decades now? Corona ain't changing this.

FWIW this is the exact opposite of anyone I know.

[MonkeyRonin]

Yeah, I don't that it'll spur a big rise in working from home post-pandemic. Companies are doing this because they have to, but I think most will find that productivity suffers as a result (to be fair, there's also a lot more going on - eg. parents have to deal with both work and looking after their kids).

Like most people that I know that get to work from home are treating this as a kind of semi-vacation. As is, I find working from home is mostly just a thing on slower days (usually a Friday) or on days where a person can't otherwise make it into the office (snow days, sickness, etc).

[atlantaguy]

Originally Posted by The North One

No, most people don't like working from home in the first place or can't for certain reasons and are less productive or dont have all the tools they need.

The mass work from home idea has been a thing for how many decades now? Corona ain't changing this.

Um, no. This 'less productive' meme is total BS. My entire Team works remotely from San Diego, and have been doing so for over 7 years now. We are the 2nd most productive Team Company-wide, and run circles around the office-based folks.

[chris08876]

Originally Posted by atlantaguy

Um, no. This 'less productive' meme is total BS. My entire Team works remotely from San Diego, and have been doing so for over 7 years now. We are the 2nd most productive Team Company-wide, and run circles around the office-based folks.

Remote working IMO is better. Less distractions, less office politics bullshit, less type-a people looking over your shoulder and all that rubbish.

In some cases, remote working is way more productive and stress free.

[chris08876]

Stop all construction in NYC now: Brooklyn City Council member urges suspension of activity during coronavirus outbreak

Build, baby, build — but not in a pandemic.

Brooklyn City Council member Carlos Menchaca is calling for a moratorium on construction work citywide, in what would be one of the most significant industry-related disruptions since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak.

“I’m calling on the moratorium of all construction site work in NYC,” tweeted Menchaca, who represents District 38 including neighborhoods such as Sunset Park and Red Hook. “Again, we are putting workers in danger.”

His calls for suspension of all construction were echoed by Council member Brad Lander, who represents District 39 and is the Council’s Deputy Leader for Policy.

“It is essential right now to build new hospital capacity,” Lander tweeted. “It is NOT essential right now to build new condos.”



[...]


The calls follow Boston’s announcement Monday that all construction projects would be halted, the first move of its kind in a major American city in response to the rapidly spreading virus.

As of Monday afternoon, New York’s Department of Buildings did notify active construction sites this weekend to follow the latest guidance from the city’s Department of Health on the spread of the coronavirus, but it has not shut down the industry.

“We will continue to closely monitor the situation,” DOB spokesperson Andrew Rudansky said in a statement, “and will issue further guidance to the industry as needed.”

===================
TRD

[Pedestrian]

Originally Posted by chris08876

Stop all construction in NYC now: Brooklyn City Council member urges suspension of activity during coronavirus outbreak


===================
TRD

I’m in the middle of having my roof recoated with an elastomeric coating (something my type of roof needs roughly every 5 years). Today I called the contractor to “just check in and make sure you aren’t hiding in your basement” as I told him. We both laughed.

[austlar1]

I have a sinking feeling that the office building boom is over for a good little while, but that's because I believe we are on the precipice of a real depression rather than a simple recession. I just hope the buildings currently under construction (office and residential) are completed. It would be morale busting to look at stalled out partially completed buildings. They were a common sight in the early years of the Great Depression. Even construction on the Empire State Building was halted for a year or so. Ditto Rockefeller Center.