As 2020 has come to a close, I have looked back at my year in review. 2020 was certainly a year like no other. For the office space commercial real estate world, the doom and gloom media headlines were much more prevalent than any other news for office space. The reality is, 2020 was not all bad. By year end, I completed 63 lease transactions total.
While some things seemed to come to a screeching halt, this was an opportune time to connect with tenants, existing and new, to discuss how I could help with finding new space or adjusting their existing lease to meet their changing needs.
11 out of 14 tenants signing new leases signed for a term of 5-10 years. With each of these completed leases, it continued to give me confidence in the undying need for physical office space. Tenants were looking past the short-term hurdles and focused on the long-term picture.
48 transactions were lease renewals. The more I spoke with our tenants, the more I heard how they were grateful for their office spaces. It helped them focus and stay productive. It reminded them, in a year of uncertainty, confusion and chaos, that they still had a job to get done and a place to go and feel safe and efficient.
11 transactions were existing tenants with changing space requirement needs. 8 of those were tenant expansions; existing Tenants acquiring MORE space. While a few tenants shifted to a work-from-home or more flexible work style, other tenants pivoted to a more open or spread-out environment.
2020 was a year much different than anything I have ever experienced. It was a year that would have been easy to sit around waiting for normalcy. The reality is, if you spent the year waiting, you missed out on great opportunity. When I joined Thomas Duke Company 5 years ago, Tom told me, ‘with every adversity comes opportunity’ and this year could not be a better representation of that. While I faced my fair share of challenges, there was much to learn from and so much to accomplish.
If you are an agent representing a tenant with an office space requirement, give me a call at 248-476-3700. If you are a tenant with changing office space needs, or in need of a new office location, let me help you find a space for your business that will keep you both comfortable and efficient. I am looking forward to making 2021 my most productive year yet!
