Design Tips When Leasing Space

Recently we came across an article from Perspective magazine which we thought was full of important things to note when leasing a space.   It was a question and answer with a New York City Real Estate advisor Greg Lorberbaum.  Lorberbaum educates tenants in understanding and making good decisions on their lease agreements in his book Leasing NYC.  His approach as a tenant rep is to stop selling and start helping as many people as he can.

Here are some tips Lorberbaum gives in the article that are helpful to keep in mind.

1.      At the design phase, have your designer create two floor plans-- one layout now for your current staff and the second which would maximize density for the future.
2.      If there are several conference rooms factored into the design now, have them designed in a way where they can be doubled as office space down the road.   This can be done by eliminating central lighting fixtures or vents where the future divided wall would be placed.  Also, placing light switches on both sides of the conference room would allow for the room to be converted into office space easier with less cost to the tenant. 
3.   A note for the boss- he/she should consider leaving the huge corner office behind. Lorberbaum mentions sitting in offices or workstations like their employees may help with employee morale.
4. When looking for space look at options where there is access to as much daylight as possible.  This is helpful when having an open plan concept.  
5.    Purchase furnishings that allow for flexibility.  Movable wall partitions are great for altering your space. 

Additional tips NKB suggest are:

1.   It’s very important from early on to task someone internally with the responsibility of managing the move.  Keep in mind this person has to keep up with their full time responsibilities as well and to provide them with support when needed.
2.   Another important tip is to gather a team early on.  This includes project managers in the following fields: IT, telecommunications, audio/visual and move relocation.
3.    To add onto number 4, there are studies that show having your employees have access to daylight is important to productivity and employee morale.  We have seen from experience in some spaces where the perimeter is lined with offices and workstations are placed inside with no daylight.  This should be flipped.  If this cannot be an option than another solution would be to have glass walls for offices and conference rooms.

 At NKB Design and Management we would be happy to sit down with you and go over the process from the early stages to ensure you’ve covered all that goes into your new space.