How Existing Buildings Can Compete With New Ones

A fast-growing office market like Seattle poses some special challenges for existing properties, especially in keeping their space competitive to attract tenants. How will existing buildings cope? Find out at our Seattle Workplace of the Future event July 19 at the Hyatt Olive 8.

With even “new” buildings in Seattle competing with even newer developments, it's become imperative to retain current tenants while attracting new ones, Kennedy Wilson senior managing director Cathy Leap, who will be a speaker at the event, tells us. "Keys to this success rely on A+ customer service and tenant relations programs. The driving force that's vital to this success is communication."

By communication, she means more than the electronic kind. "While it’s easy to rely upon electronic means of communicating, often tenants appreciate the simple, in-person interaction with property management—the lobby events that nurture a sense of community, the one-on-one lunches and meetings, or just dropping in to say hello." Open dialogue, she adds, allows feedback of ideas and values from tenants, which in turn may enhance programs already in place, or may even inspire new ones.

Another burgeoning part of the office market in Seattle is co-working space, which is approaching 1M SF in the greater Seattle market, according to Colliers International data. WeWork is at the cutting edge of developing this kind of space, with three Seattle locations up and running: 500 Yale in South Lake Union, Westlake Tower downtown and Holyoke Building in Pioneer Square (pictured), with more reportedly in the works. WeWork general manager Jon Slavet will be a speaker at our event to tell us more about the co-working phenomenon.

To learn more, join us at our Seattle Workplace of the Future event July 19 at the Hyatt Olive 8, beginning at 7:30am. Register here.