Real Estate firm Cushman & Wakefield and flexible office space provider Industrious announced a new partnership this week. The companies’ new service, Integrated Building Management will incorporate flexible office and hospitality-driven amenitization into a, “unified, whole-building approach to property management.”
“Together, Industrious and Cushman & Wakefield’s complementary services and attentive client-first cultures will bring best-in-class expertise in scale to all aspects of property services,” Cushman & Wakefield President of Asset Services Marla Maloney said in a statement. “From expert to technical operations, to transparent reporting, to creating highly engaging tenant experiences, together we will drive greater value for owners and tenants.”
The companies created Integrated Building Management after the demand for more flexibility and better building amenities grew in recent years. The service will combine both companies’ services to provide a one-stop shop solution for landlords who are looking for a more hands-on role in the tenant experience.
“Sophisticated tenants need an experience that’s flexible, high quality and seamless, and that’ hard to do to when different arms of the building are not working hand-in-hand,” Industrious CEO and Co-Founder Jamie Hodari said in a statement. “By working together with Cushman & Wakefield, we hope to jointly learn how to integrate whole building management and elevate the tenant experience in ways that would otherwise be impossible.”
Industrious and Cushman & Wakefield bet on companies returning to work
Starting any venture that’s contingent on people being in an office might seem precarious right now. A lot of companies still have a work from home policy in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and some don’t plan to return to their physical office at all. That’s not great news for the Integrated Building Management service. However, Cushman & Wakefield and Industrious believe that a flexible office space is the kind of office that companies would be most willing to return to thanks to the less rigid lease terms.
“Most companies seem to be coalescing around employee choice—giving employees more say over when they come in the office and if they come in,” Hodari told The Wall Street Journal. “There is no question most companies are going to add offices in lots of new cities they weren’t in before,” Mr. Hodari said.
Meanwhile Integrated Building Management gives landlords the best of both worlds—the ability to manage their traditional spaces alongside the trending flexible office space.
“For landlords, that’s been a bit of a pain point,” Hodari said. “The person that’s picking the music for the elevators should be talking to the company that’s managing the elevator maintenance.”
Joe Dyton can be reached at joed@fifthgenmedia.com.
