Can OC Pass a Walking Test?
If OC's walk and bike scores were graded, it would be failing, with only about 50 out of 100. (Even a star athlete wouldn't pass with a score that low.) But that could change, experts tell us—and it must change, to keep OC office space competitive.
Last week a ULI OC-IE panel got together in Santa Ana to talk about making the county a better place for bike riding. Green developments often tout their bike-friendly features, but overall OC isn’t that hospitable place for bicycles. The county needs better bike infrastructure, the panel concluded. Just like cars need parking, bikes need bike racks, lockers, and showers. (The latter is for all of our benefit.) More importantly, biking needs more low-stress, separated bike paths to attract ridership beyond “strong and fearless” and “enthused and confident” riders. Snapped: Alta Planning + Design’s Brett Hondorp; the City of Santa Ana’s William Galvez, OCTA’s Charlie Larwood, FivePoint Communities’ Emile Haddad, Garden Grove City Councilmember and OCTA Board Member Steve Jones, and Alta Planning + Design’s Paul Martin, who moderated.
Lincoln Property Co managing director Matthew Cady argues that tenants now looking for Class-A office in Central OC are looking for factors beyond cost, very much including walkability. “They’re looking for enjoyable external people spaces and amenities within walking distance,” he tells us. Recently Torchlight Investors tapped Lincoln to lease the 414k SF City Tower in Orange. The property’s got a number of amenities within walking distance, including an Outlets at Orange, a mall with 114 retailers, and a variety of themed restaurants, express eateries, coffee shops and a mega-movie complex. (In SoCal, where would you be without movies close at hand?)
Not all walking needs to be outside the office. Last week we snapped Tangram Studio VP Mitchel Zelinger (right), with Emmes asset manager Jordan Johnson, at a Steelcase Walk Station. It’s a trending item, Mitch says, because research now supports the idea that activity and motion during the day keeps your juices flowing while burning some calories. The machine goes 2 mph so users can walk and talk and type. Creative office space allows for devices like walk stations, Mitch explains, because creative office allows for pretty much anything and everything, and the more abstract the better. “We just installed a conference table made from reclaimed bowling alley material,” he says. “The table looks like it just needs a bowling ball.” (We wouldn't be able to have a meeting there unless they put up the bumpers.)
