As businesses look to welcome workers back into the physical workspace, many are exploring the hub-and-spoke model to maintain low real estate costs, while keeping employees safe.
Jennifer Frisk, senior managing director at Newmark Knight Frank’s downtown Los Angeles office, explains that this model could provide a lot of opportunity for cities where public transit is essential, such as New York and San Francisco.
“It’s a little bit easier in Los Angeles because you’re getting in your car, whether it’s to go five minutes or 45 minutes,” said Frisk. “The hub-and-spoke model doesn’t solve for that as much as it does in those cities that are relying on public transit.”
However, Frisk added that this new strategy will likely serve all types of cities as companies look more into flexible arrangements for the foreseeable future.
According to Frisk, flexibility is not going anywhere, but will not be executed in the way we once pictured it. Shared kitchens and conference rooms are not ideal in a post-pandemic world, but with the right reconfigurements, flexible workspaces could help accommodate workers who want a physical office to get away from distractions at home.
While it is clear that many professionals have the ability to work from anywhere, when it comes to collaboration, individual work and bringing teams together, offices will always be crucial.
