Pandemic changing way local commercial real estate companies approach work
By Jordan Vandenberge
8/26/2021
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — Redwood Living Inc., a regional developer and owner of more than 13,000 apartment homes spanning seven states, opened its new, state-of-the-art headquarters in Independence Thursday afternoon after a multi-million dollar renovation spanning the course of the pandemic.
Prompted by the need for collaboration and teamwork, Redwood’s return to the office represents one of several, vastly different approaches employers are taking to how and where their staffs will be working in a post-pandemic world.
Redwood staff and management cut the ribbon on the company’s new 32,000 square foot facility off Pleasant Valley Drive, which features open concept office spaces, employee lounges and a “speakeasy.” The company moved to Independence from Beachwood five years ago and had been operating out of a tired, cramped office before renovations began on the Pleasant Valley property. Even as renovations continued through the course of the pandemic, which has caused major shifts in how and where people work, John Lateulere, the senior vice president of development at Redwood, said it was important for the company to return to the office. Equally as important was an open, free-flowing space that promotes collaboration.
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“We struggled a little bit toward the end before we brought people back because we didn’t see that type of collaboration happening,” Lateulere said. “It was really hard over Zoom or Microsoft Teams to call somebody up and have that coordination. A cell phone can only take you so far. We really felt that was an important part of our DNA, all the way to our core value—communicate openly and honestly—You can’t do that when you have doors. You have to bring those doors down so we can all talk to each other.”
For employers whose work involves collaboration and team-oriented tasks, a full return to the office is the prevailing trend. Other industries, however, are going through introspection from the top-down. Employee sentiments are driving those conversations.
“A lot of the decision making that is being done on the C-Suite Level about where they are going to locate and how they are going to operate has more impact now from the employee level than ever before,” said Nathan Kelly, the president and managing director of Cushman & Wakefield. “You see a lot of diversity in decision making around how people are using their real estate. Some of that was changing before COVID but we are seeing all of those changes accelerated.”
Although there are currently a multitude of different approaches being taken by employers, Kelly said those approaches will coalesce around whether to fully embrace working from home or develop flexible employment models. Smaller employers are more likely to embrace a full work-from-home structure. Remote work is also being used in the retention and recruitment of new talent in an increasingly tight labor market.
“COVID exacerbated [the tight labor market] because now there are other trends that are giving employees more options to work—not just from home but from home in another market from where they are actually employed,” Kelly said. “When employers are thinking about how to address the real estate needs, they are very cognizant of those changes and what they need to attract the best workforce, serve their clients and have a strong business too.”
In addition to how employees work, where they work may also change, Kelly said. Businesses of varying sizes and industries may seek to offer enhanced flexibility to their employees by establishing smaller satellite offices in suburbs like Independence.
Communities like Cleveland’s outer ring suburbs could stand to see a windfall of these changing attitudes. After issuing only one incentive package to a business seeking to expand or relocate in 2020, the city has offered four such incentive packages this year alone.
“We want to be something for everybody. If it’s the core operation, we want to be a part of that,” said Independence Mayor Gregory Kurtz. “If we’re taking on their branches, we want to provide them the same level of service that they would get in their primary location. It’s a comprehensive approach.”
Independence’s centralized location proved to be a major selling point when Redwood first moved to the city five years ago and it was a major point of consideration as the company explored its options for a new headquarters.
“We were very purposeful about making sure that everybody had a half hour drive so that nobody was driving five minutes and somebody else was driving two hours,” Lateulere said. “This has also allowed us to attract a different talent pool while also allowing us to retain the talent we had on the east side.”
Kelly said it is important to note that the central urban core like downtown Cleveland shouldn’t be counted out. The new headquarters for Sherwin-Williams is proof of that.
“Downtown has the amenities, the energy, the density, the talent and all of the assets that the top tier of talent we’re trying to recruit wants,” Kelly said. “[Some businesses] want to be able to have shared values, shared culture, shared experience but also be able to deploy new management capabilities, tools, etc. It’s easier to do that in a more dense environment.”
California Launches COVID Rent Relief Portal For Landlords, Tenants
3/16/2021
SACRAMENTO (BCN) — California’s COVID-19 rent relief application portal went live on Monday, which will help eligible landlords and tenants cover unpaid rent from the past year.
Funding for the relief comes from the $2.6 billion in federal aid from the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s emergency rental assistance program.
The application for California tenants and landlords is available at housing.ca.gov/covid–rr/.
Though some counties or cities have their own application portal for administering the rental assistance, Russ Heimerich, a spokesman for California’s Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency, said that there is no wrong door for applying. For jurisdictions with their own application portal, the state’s website will direct people to the relevant website.
Landlords with eligible tenants can apply to get reimbursed for 80 percent of a tenant’s unpaid rent between April 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021 if they agree to forgive the remaining 20 percent.
Tenants may also apply on their own if their landlords do not participate. Those meeting eligibility requirements can receive 25 percent of unpaid rent accrued between April 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021. This is the amount tenants must pay before June 30 to avoid eviction under the state’s COVID-19 Tenant Relief Act (Senate Bill 91).
Some tenants may also be able to receive assistance to cover 100 percent of utilities for the past year and 25 percent of future rent when eviction protections expire.
Applications are not first come, first served but will be accepted on an ongoing basis. Eligible tenants must make 80 percent or less of their location’s area median income and the state will prioritize those making below 50 percent of their location’s AMI.
Community organizations in each county are also available to help with applications. A list of supporting organizations and their contact information are available housing.ca.gov/covid–rr/partner–resources.html.
For more information and eligibility requirements, people can visit HousingIsKey.com or call a toll-free phone line at (833) 430-2122.
The application will be available in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Chinese and Korean, and help is available in more than 200 additional languages through the call center.
CA COVID-19 Rent Relief
Whether it’s a health-related event or a significant financial hardship, COVID-19 has affected us all. As our state continues to recover, we are committed to keeping families housed and recognize that California renters and landlords have enough to worry about. We want to make sure that past due rent isn’t one of them.
CA COVID-19 Rent Relief will help income-eligible households pay rent and utilities, both for past due and future payments. The federal Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 provides funding to support the program and tenant (renter) protection laws signed by Governor Newsom.
For additional information, to find a Local Partner Network organization near you, or for eligibility and application help, call our CA COVID-19 Rent Relief Call Center: 833-430-2122
Source: https://housing.ca.gov/covid_rr/index.html
