Category Archives: Sublets Blog

COVID-19 & The Future of American Office Spaces

Remote Work, Satellite Offices and The Return of The Cubicle: Corporate America Explores the Shape of the Pandemic Office

 

Key Highlights:

  • Office spaces emerge as new COVID-19 battleground, as the U.S. opens up for business
  • Work from home is here to stay, as companies shift into long-term remote operations
  • Satellite and suburban offices to see surge in demand, as companies look to secure safe office space for workers
  • Vacancy rates to escalate, with subleasing and assigning a strong solution for managing impact

As countries around the world upended decades-long trends and ways of living and working as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, economies strained and buckled. Retail had already been struggling between the pull of online shoppers and companies’ commitment to brick-and-mortar despite past years’ struggles for physical stores. Lately, as much of the Global North, then South, went into lockdown, a strong digital presence paired with an ability to pivot on distribution has been essential for the sector to stay afloat.

Hospitality has essentially ground to a halt, with 39.3% of workers unemployed in the U.S. alone. Industrial has not only been hit hard by lockdown measures and the slowdown in economic activity, but pushed to its limits, as delicate global supply chains were disrupted at never-before-seen levels.

Office spaces, however, have been mostly overlooked in the general conversation, as office workers were essentially shifted into telecommuting overnight. But as lockdown measures are beginning to ease and business reopen, office spaces are emerging as a new battleground both on the economic front —due to widespread layoffs and shuttered businesses — as well as on the personal safety front.

Personal safety is especially important, as the decade-long push towards open office designs has reduced the space allocated per employee by 8.3% between 2009 and 2018 alone. In markets like Seattle and Washington, D.C., the space per employee has dropped to 135 square feet, making the required six-foot distancing difficult to implement.

Office to Incorporate Coworking Trends

So, how will office space evolve in the upcoming months and years, and what will the new normal look like, as people adapt to living with new habits and restrictions? The key seems to be merging traditional office trends with coworking influences into a new hybrid form of office space, centered on flexibility and personal safety.

Already in late March, 74% of CFOs were planning to move at least 5% of their on-site workforce to permanent work-from-home positions. A quarter of CFOs said they will shift 10% of their employees into permanently remote positions, while 17% were considering moving as much as 20% of their workers into permanent home office arrangements. And positive attitudes towards remote work have only strengthened since, a trend that will have serious implications for the U.S. office market, with rising vacancy rates a real concern.

“Many corporations are now rethinking their office space footprint needs going forward, as they realize that certain percentages of their employees can work from home. Taking into account that major firms are now considering relocating from Manhattan to the suburban office spaces, subleasing is the most sensible option to get rid of excess space,” predicts DitchTheSpace CEO Jack Sitt.

Long-Term Remote Work Safest Bet for Most Companies

While the push for flexible work hours and telecommuting has been on a steady rise, especially as Millennials took over the employment market, most companies have been reticent to fully embrace it. However, as the pandemic took hold, essentially every employee who could work from home has been shifted into telecommuting. 62% of U.S. employees are now working from home and companies, from tech to banking, are integrating work-from-home policies into their long-term business plans.

As much of the world starts opening up, the threat of COVID-19 is as real as ever. Our understanding of the disease has evolved, but the new shape of everyday life remains hazy. The massive lockdowns meant to flatten the curve were only phase one — dubbed “the hammer” by Thomas Pueyo, known for making “flattening the curve” go viral. So, what follows the hammer, a move that quashes case and transmission rates by radical lockdowns and social distancing measures?

It’s “the dance”, a strategy based on alternating periods of easing and tightening of safety measures, successfully employed by regions that were hit early on, like South Korea and Hong Kong. It is this critical dance period that will most define the future of the office sector, as it will be a necessary reality until a cure or vaccine are discovered and deployed.

Most notably, the uncertainty and fluid nature of the dance has made much of corporate America decide it is safest to carry on working from home, in a complete 180-degree shift from previous attitudes. And it’s not just startups and tech giants who plan on continuing with overwhelmingly home office policies. While much of retail spending went down as the U.S. shut down, expenditure on equipment and software meant to facilitate working from home went up.

Work from Home Is Here To Stay

The investment already committed to work from home solutions and that to follow in the upcoming months, paired with the growing understanding of the connection between air flow and transmission rates, mean that offices and their notoriously divisive HVAC policies are under increasing scrutiny.

Simply put, workers cannot be packed safely into the same cramped offices as before, especially considering the prevalence of open office designs throughout corporate America (and beyond). Add to this the sweeping changes recommended by the new CDC guidelines, and the safest pandemic office seems to look more and more like everyone’s living room.

But even as much of the white-collar workforce can and plans to remain at home, some office workers will inevitably want and need to return to working from traditional offices. Limitations caused by lower-performance equipment, cramped or noisy living arrangements, higher risk tolerance, collaboration-intensive projects and the simple, yet overpowering human need for socializing will all contribute to push some workers into returning to the office.

Safety of Downtown Offices Under Scrutiny

Companies might start considering downsizing office footprints to cut costs under pressing economic conditions. But the math is more complicated than multiplying current footprint per capita by the number of employees remaining in work from home mode and giving that space up, due to the necessity of social distancing.

Whether and to what exact extent companies might downsize office space is also very much dependent on how long the wait for vaccines and treatments will be. Office workers also have to contend with risks beyond those of the office itself, with some of the most significant ones stemming from the ever-growing urban sprawl of most large metro areas.

While companies may ensure excellent screening and safety standards in the workplace, the cramped and complex commutes most office workers in large urban centers have to struggle with, paired with mobility choke points —elevators, escalators, stairs, and entry/exit points — bring another layer of risk to the traditional urban core office building to which workers flock from all over the city and suburbia beyond.

Although Millennials have moved to revitalized downtowns and packed urban living arrangements, suburban living and bedroom communities remain central to U.S. urban design. And it is this sprawling design paired with dense urban clusters that heighten the threat and likelihood of spread through the mobility funnel of commuting even in car-centric America.

The Return of The Cubicle

A niche trend re-emerging in the past years — partially as a result of gentrification, partially as result of rapidly increasing urban sprawl and density — may hold the key to a continued office culture: suburban office spaces. Specifically, suburban office spaces operating as satellite offices.

While implementing changes like staggered office hours, retrofitting desks with cubicle walls or Plexiglas, aggressive signage and PPE requirements, temperature checks and single-lane movement corridors can significantly increase safety by creating six square feet of office space per employee, large, commercial-district office spaces present particular challenges in limiting spread risk.

Medical space trends — such as increased automation for doors, elevators, bathroom fixtures etc., more aggressive adoption of paperless solutions, or retrofitting with materials that decrease contamination rates (such as copper) — will aggressively bleed into office design in the future. But centralized office spaces can only go so far in terms of contagion safety. However, smaller, less dense spaces bridge the gap between home offices and the downtown address.

The Case for Satellite & Suburban Offices

Not only do suburban satellite offices decrease risk by exponentially cutting potential contacts within the work environment, but they also allow for spreading out the workforce geographically in a specific urban area, resulting in shorter, less complex commutes, thus significantly decreasing the contamination risk of crowded public transport or elevators.

Additionally, they allow better access to professional office spaces as white-collar workforces, mostly clustered in large metropolitan areas, prepare for scaled easing and tightening of lockdowns in different cities, suburbs and communities. Especially as large metros like New York see areas outside the densely packed urban cluster open up well before the city itself.

New York specifically exemplifies the need for suburban satellite offices with its large office workforce and hyper-dense urban landscape. Hit hard by the pandemic, the State of New York is now slowly and carefully opening up again. But strict conditions for opening up mean that vertical and dense NYC will enter phase one of reopening only on June 8, while five regions of the state have already entered phase two on May 29.

Corporate giants have taken notice and are already searching for move-in-ready suburban offices outside the core of NYC, looking as far as Westchester and New Jersey.

The Coworking Sublease

While some companies are already scouting the market for move-in-ready suburban offices and others prepare to take the leap, it is becoming increasingly clear that this segment of office assets will see the highest interest in the near future. Not only do they allow easier access for workers but are also cheaper than downtown locations.

Coupled with the growing trend of live-work-play neighborhoods, suburban offices will only attract more attention, especially as some specialists warn that social distancing measures will be necessary into 2022.

But with limited suburban space, especially move-in-ready space, companies may need to think outside the box. Some may adopt the wheel and spoke model, giving up part of existing centralized space and spreading workers among multiple urban satellite offices. This setup can also aid in limiting contacts and pre-empting potential future micro-lockdowns affecting specific neighborhoods or communities.

Others may simply decide, especially in light of the CDC’s sweeping new guidelines for office buildings, that transitioning into long-term remote work policies is simply easier, safer and more cost-effective, potentially pushing them into giving up most or even all of their office footprints.

Additionally, with the continued economic fallout of the pandemic, some businesses will have to shutter completely. According to DitchTheSpace.com, “New York City could see office rents declining 25% and office vacancies reaching 20%, as NYC is now the center of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

However, considering the extended time frames usually covered by commercial lease terms, navigating the process of getting out of an office space or even just part of it can be a complex and costly undertaking. However, it need not be so when agile technological solutions like sublease ILSs exist.

Subleasing Emerges as Possible Solution

Subleasing is not a new process. Out of Manhattan’s 45 million square-foot Q1 office vacancy, nearly 25% represents sublease vacancy. In the case of San Francisco, sublease vacancies accounted for 32% of the total available office space at the start of 2020. Moreover, as the popularity of coworking spaces has grown, so has the trend of companies securing large coworking spaces for exclusive use, essentially going against the communal, idea-exchange grain of coworking.

“The social distancing era is likely to reduce the popularity of coworking spaces and so jumping into subleases will be the trend for tenants that need a private furnished space at attractive rent levels,” offered DitchTheSpace’s Jack Sitt. This trend will surely surge in the upcoming months as companies rush to diversify office footprints and locations.

As more of the U.S. returns to work while the health crisis continues, the professional environment office workers will discover will be very different from the one they left in March. The upcoming period will continue to test companies and the wider population alike, but agility, adaptability and flexibility will allow some companies to not only survive but thrive.

While office workers may be nostalgic for watercooler debates, there is also a growing, wider conversation on the imperfect nature of the pre-pandemic office. So, companies willing to embrace innovation and listen to their workers’ needs will emerge into the post-pandemic economy not only more productive and efficient, but also happier and more cohesive.

About DitchTheSpace

Real estate internet listing service DitchTheSpace.com seeks to provide value on both sides of the real estate deals, offering an extended suite of solutions for companies needing to unload or sublease excess commercial space, real estate professionals looking to boot leads, as well as for everyday people looking for short-term rentals. DitchTheSapce.com makes it easy to find a new space or ditch your current one.

Congratulations Graduates!

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            We want to start of this blog off by recognizing you, Graduates. We want to recognize your accomplishment and the hard work you have completed to be where you are. This is an exciting time in your life. It is a time to pursue that career you have been striving towards for four years. Or maybe for others, it is time to find any job because you still are unsure of what it is you want to do. Either way, you have worked hard to be where you are! Here at DitchTheSpace we care about all of our customers achievements and we want to celebrate with our graduates today! With that said enjoy this time, enjoy this wave of joy and celebration. Stay in that as long as possible. Once more, congratulations!
            Now that you are officially done or close to being done, we want to make you aware of our services. Ditchthespace.com is an online website that helps both the ditcher and gainer in the moving process. We have created an online market for both ditchers and gainers to come together to find a sublet or rental. Whether you are looking for a residential space, because that new job you just got is moving you across the country… Or maybe you have to ditch that old apartment and return home. Whatever situation you are in, come use our website. It is completely free, fast, and easy. So now continue on and enjoy this season in life. You deserve to take a breath and don’t forget to smile! Happy graduation graduates

Focus on the Family

family blog

Ditch The space is a site that is geared towards everyone and anyone. While we have focused a lot on college students and the young twenty something’s we want you to know we are here for everyone’s use. So with that said, today we are changing it up and focusing on the family.

Families, aw that word has so much behind it. For some of us we smile and for others of us we cringe. Whatever feelings arise you still know what a family looks like.

My family and I are from Orange County, CA. I grew up with a swimming pool, backyard, and I got to play outside basically every single day (The benefits of no winter). Moving here was definitely rough at times, but I have figured out how to manage. Here in New York City pools and big backyards don’t exist. Families across American look so different, to each their own.

However, If that last part got you thinking, wishing, and hoping about more space then maybe it is time to switch it up. Maybe it is time to move out of the city and into Brooklyn, Queens, Jersey, Connecticut, you name it! If you are truly ready then take the first step and head on over to DitchTheSpace.com. If you are just toying with the idea still head on over to ditchthespace.com and be inspired! Let us help you find your new gain and or inspire you. Don’t feel bad about ditching your NYC Apartment. Look at your ditch as helping someone else find their new gain. “Your Ditch is Their Gain”. Forget dreading ditching your apartment and focus on what could be. Think about all the wonderful memories that are going to be made in your new place. The move will be well worth your while! And hey, once you realize the value of much more room for you and your wonderful family maybe, just maybe the extra space will entice you to add another little one to your gang.

Photo Taken By Lindsay Long

relax

Rest and Relaxation

Rest and Relaxation, it is truly needed to revive ourselves. We work hard but if it’s all for nothing if we don’t give ourselves space to just be.

This last week I headed back home, to Southern California, for some R&R time. It was just what I needed to feel refreshed and come back to the real world with a new sense of newly founded optimism. Oh, how wonderful my rest time was. I took time to fixate my eyes on the beautiful beaches and I just sat. I sat thinking about all the unimportant things, and let me tell you it was great!

We all need moments like these, moments where we allow the everyday stresses to be put to rest, just for a while. We need to enjoy life and enjoy the sights around us. So go, be, and enjoy the rest you deserve.

Don’t worry DitchTheSpace will be around when you get back. We will be by your side when you get back from time away and realize that you need to ditch your space and find a new place that will continue making you feel alive, just like that R&R time did.

So my friends go be free for a week or weekend and remember Rest and Relaxation is the perfect recipe for rejuvenation!

Here are some soothing sounds to calm you over for the next couple of hours in the event you are interested. Recharge your batteries and enjoy life!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wwv1hctniUY

Summer Dreaming… And Crucial Planning

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 College students lets think about summer.  Lets get lost in the thoughts about summer: oh, the splashes to be had in lakes, rivers, and oceans, the tans from the radiant sun, the hometown friends to catch up with, late night adventures, and all those other endless memories filled with pure goodness. Now that that’s out of the way lets talk about your space!

You might be wondering: What do I do with the empty room that I am ditching behind at school? The answer is simple: sublet it. DitchTheSpace.com is a reliable source for subletting. This summer enjoy a bit more cash in your pocket by deciding to sublet your space.  Enjoy days filled with sleep, rest, and rejuvenation from a long and torturous semester. You deserve some extra cash this summer after all that work you put into school!

Don’t let the hassle and stress of school get in the way of planning ahead. Procrastination might be your strong suit but planning can be your moneymaker. So signup with DitchTheSpace and sublet your space with us this summer! After that sit back and relax because summer is almost yours!

Lastly, let’s share some summer stories!! Go ahead now, don’t be shy!

 

 

(Photo copyrights: Elizabeth Holmberg)

Summer travel: But first sublet your space!

      image(Monaco)
Sublet your space with us this summer and travel! Travel now because the value of the Dollar is stronger than ever! It is time to explore European countries and get more bang for your buck. However, as we know and have experienced it is not that simple. In fact, it is much more complicated than that. The truth is logistics come into play. We must think about bills and figure out how it is possible to travel and still pay rent, not to mention rent!!! Did I mention paying rent? Sadly it is hard to travel and pay rent without stressing over finances.

There are many options to avoid this inevitable headache like planning and saving for years, but why? Why don’t you allow your wanderlust soul to take root and go this summer, why wait! Go to the places you have imagined and day dreamed about while at your 9 to 5 job! Let’s stop for one moment and just imagine. Imagine those places, those smells, and that tan that will add a fine color of soul refreshment to your tone.

I know we here at Ditch The Space, have dreamed about a get away to Paris or even a long stay in Monaco. Can you see it now? We sure can!

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(Paris)                                                              (Monaco)

This summer it is time to stop getting in the way of adventure! Go adventure and wander, but before that let us help you. Let us help you eliminate that headache of having to worry about rent on top of travel costs!

So Travel now but first head over to DitchTheSpace.com to sublet your space. Think how much more fun and stressful free it will be to make money from your unused space? All you have to do is upload your space, on DitchTheSpace.com, that you’re going to ditch this summer. Your ditch will be someone else’s gain and ultimately that space will help another traveler chase after an adventurous summer and not to mention help you expand your own travel budget.

 

 

(Photo copyrights: Elizabeth Holmberg) 

Spring Time Sublets… Maybe Williamsburg? Anyone?

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One of our favorite things about spring is the joy that it brings to New York. It is soul fueling for every New Yorker that just survived that long and brutal winter. New York is a place where you go to find adventure and chase after experiences; we would be lying if we said seasons didn’t add to our cities je ne sais quoi. The reason being is that different seasons make different areas of the city more intriguing and for us in spring that is Williamsburg. Don’t we all just love the artsy souls that seem to congregate there? This is our go to place for subletting in spring because Williamsburg offers so much to its people. They have everything from fabulous food, arcade bars to outdoor flea market. One of our favorite flea markets is Smorgasburg (http://www.smorgasburg.com) it is by far one of our favorites because it takes place outdoors and the community of local vendors and artist that come together to hang out and embrace the local businesses. Since it takes place outside it sadly must close every year for winter and all winter long we anticipate it’s fourth coming once again. Alongside flea market fabulousness, Williamsburg has affordable boutiques and secret rooftop gems, which offers spectacular views of the city.(Hint.. Hint.. Above Urban Outfitters) Not to mention it is close to the Brooklyn Botanical gardens, which are a must see in spring. The cherry blossoms alone will put a smile on your face and you will begin to wonder if winter was actually just a bad nightmare.

Why don’t you just spring on over to Williamsburg, but first you spring on over to Ditchthespace.com and find your next gain so that you can be springing into a new place, maybe conveniently located in the heart of Williamsburg? Currently we have places that offer residency for as little as 1 month or as long as two years. Happy spring my fellow friends! Now go spring into action!!

!williamsburg spring             williamsburg spring 3       williamsburg spring2

Rent a warehouse today!

DitchTheSpace and Commercial Spaces

We are so glad that you are back with us! If you’re new to our blog welcome! Today we are so excited to talk about commercial real estate. We want you to understand how Ditch The Space is perfect for assisting you in all things commercial, well at least the rental side!

As a business owner you have to do what is best for your company and there are so many variables to consider. One thing you must contemplate is space and location.  Not just any space but space that is cost efficient and accommodating to you and your employees needs.  Now figuratively speaking lets just say you decide to sign a lease, which at the time seemed like the perfect decision. However, let’s be realistic, business is ever changing.  Your business might grow over night or come to a screeching halt (which we hope doesn’t happen) for whatever reason you need a new space.  All of a sudden you are faced with the reality that you just signed a lease that you can’t get out of, or maybe you can as long as you find a new tenant.

Whatever position you find yourself in we can help.  Ditch the Space is the perfect place for you to ditch your space and find your new gain. Our online databases are filled with commercial spaces that offer short term or long-term sublets or leases. Why don’t you post your ditch and sublet or lease assignment.

After that let us help you find your next gain. Businesses need to be able to prosper, don’t let your space hinder your financial prosperity.

CommercialNJ1

“Their Ditch is Your Gain”

Ditch The Space: Reinventing The Exchange of Leases

      Welcome to Ditch the Space Blog. We wanted to give you a bit of a background as to who we are and why we do what we do. Enjoy!

Have you ever thought to ditch your space? Have you ever wanted to move and feared one of these three major headaches: Trying to get out of a lease contract, trying to find a tenant to unload your sublet to, or even the hassle of finding a new space? We know you have, because we have. This is the reason why we have created the company Ditch The Space.

Ditch the space in an online marketplace utilizing technology to reinvent the way people come together to exchange leases. In today’s ever rapidly changing society there are numerous reasons why one needs to ditch their space. Ditch the space is where ditchers and gainers come together to achieve this through the form of sublet or lease assignment in a fast, free, and easy way!!

Ditch the Space is founded on the principle that “Their Ditch is Your Gain” Our company brings in all types of ditchers and gainers, if you head on over to our site you will see all kinds of listings. The listings range from commercial to residential, with lease opportunities that vary from one month to two years.

Now Ditch the space is not just any site. We are different in the way that we encourage our ditchers to offer incentives, which makes the gaining process that much more enticing. Currently the incentives vary from a furnished apartment to the first months rent completely free. Can you say Bargain?

Today Ditch the space finds itself successfully grounded in the New York real-estate market, with a determination to expand to your city!! But enough about us!

We want to hear from you! We want to know how you currently find a new space or how you have ditched your place in the past?

Thank you for joining us for our first blog post! Continue to follow us so that we can share our knowledge, experiences, and ditches with you. While you’re waiting for our next post why don’t you head on over to our search section to check out all the amazing ditches currently available and just waiting for you! Enjoy!!

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All The Best,

DitchTheSpace.Com

via Flickr, © Cyndy Sims Parr

Sublet Your Furnished Space This Summer and Make Extra $$

Summer is a great time to suspend your day-to-day reality in favor of a little more adventure. Many people take the summer season to travel, study, or work in another state or country. If you’re one of these people, you might want to sublet your apartment.

Your mundane is someone else’s adventure, so while New Yorkers like you might be shuffling off to a teaching assignment in Beijing or a writing program in Dublin, or even just going back to the West Coast on break from school, plenty of people around the country- and world!- are packing their bags for a summer adventure in New York City. If you’re in school, you may also find that many of your fellow students are looking for local summer housing.

Of course collecting rent and having your apartment occupied is a no-brainer, but what about dealing with all of your furniture? Leave it and you can rent that out too! Renting your furniture as part of the sublet deal is an easy and convenient way to make a little extra money while you’re away for the summer, and furnished spaces are an attractive option for new or temporary New Yorkers.

We love furnished listings at DitchTheSpace.com. It’s free to list your space, and our prospective tenants are qualified, responsible folks– exactly the sort of people you want in your apartment.

Is that enough incentive to overcome your lingering doubts about what to do this summer? Go on, get out there! Rent your place furnished, and you might even recoup the cost of your plane tickets!