In New York City, where prices and vacancies are high, rental building owners are identifying fresh ways to entice occupants.
For Christopher Dossman and his wife Yao Li, this meant being close to a grocery store, having easy subway access, and potentially most important of all, having a dedicated workspace.
Dossman and Li moved into a one-bedroom apartment at an unfinished 34-story Downtown Brooklyn building, but the most alluring amenity for the couple was the coworking space on the 22nd floor.
“Every day I am up there,” said Dossman, an entrepreneur. “There are some days I don’t leave the building at all.”
Flexible work models have gained traction, quickly becoming the norm for many forward-thinking businesses, entrepreneurs, and startups alike. For professionals like Dossman, having an alternative work option closer to home is the missing puzzle piece for true work-life balance.
This isn’t just beneficial to workers — landlords struggling to attract new tenants can tap into this market to provide more enticing spaces for the future workforce.
“It’s something you have to do today; it’s an amenity, like a pool,” said Ric Campo, CEO and chairman Camden Property Trust, which features a Hub workspace at its Long Beach residential building.
It’s a win-win situation for the real estate industry. Both coworking operators, which saw a major slump in business during the pandemic, and building owners are able to lean on each other to achieve recovery and profitability.
