You might expect the most expensive place to set up shop in a new office would be the one with the highest rents.
This would make New York’s Midtown the dubious winner, with its $194 per-square-foot rates and status as the third most expensive office market in the world after Hong Kong ($302) and London’s West End ($197).
But there’s more than meets the eye when it comes to the cost of converting outdated office space into an engaging workplace of the future.
Today’s ever-more competitive business arena has rendered one-size-fits-all office space obsolete. Nowadays, every work station, huddle room, and cafe can be designed to directly support flexibility, mobility, and ultimately, the employee experience as a whole. But that doesn’t mean that they have been.
“It’s rare for an organization to find office space that’s already optimal for its unique culture and talent,” says Todd Burns, President of Project and Development Services at JLL. “In fact, more than 85 million square feet of U.S. office space leased last year will need some level of construction.”