Office renovations can help create a more productive workplace and support a business’s branding strategy. However, these projects can have a significant impact on capital expenditure. Calculated per rentable square foot (RSF), fit-out and renovation costs went ranged from $90 to $220/RSF in 2019-20, depending on location, office size, cost of labor, and industry sector – since some businesses (such as tech companies) require fit-outs to higher and more costly specifications.

What follows is a breakdown of the costs involved in renovating an office in the United States. *

Construction Costs

These costs involve the removal, addition or alteration of physical elements in a building, office floor or office unit. Construction costs include materials and labor, as well as fees charged by contractors, and they serve as the biggest expense in fit-out projects – accounting for 50% to 70% of the total cost.

Average costs are $90/RSF. Depending on location, they can be as high as $139/RSF or as low as $54/RSF.

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A sublease is an agreement between a party who already hold a lease to a property and a separate party looking to rent the property in question, whether that be partly or wholly. For example, a business who leases five floors of office space in a building may look to sublease one of those floors, in the event that they downsize their workforce prior to the end of the initial lease. The party who holds in initial lease is known as the sublessor, whilst the third party looking to occupy a part of the leased space is the sublessee.

How to Sublease

The first step is to check whether you need your landlord’s written permission to sublease a property. This should be outlined in your lease agreement. If subleasing is permitted, the agreement may also specify whether you’re required to give notice to your landlord.

Next, make sure you’re familiar with the legal aspects of subletting in your area, since every state has its own sublet laws that take precedence over lease agreements. You can check state-by-state details here.

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There are certain terms you need to be familiar with when renting commercial property in the United States. Here is a list of the most important key words, in alphabetical order.

All-Inclusive

All-inclusive space is available at a fixed fee and typically gives tenants access to equipped workstations, admin/reception support, and meeting rooms. Utilities, janitorial services, and security are usually included.

Class A/B/C

Office space is classified into three classes depending on quality standards and the amenities on offer.

Class A

Class A space is considered best-in-class and is usually located in new buildings that feature the highest standards of construction, design, and amenities. These offices are typically found in prime business locations.

Class B

Class B space offers a functional standard of accommodation to office-based businesses in need of well-maintained space at a reasonable price.

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The United States office market is characterized by its wide range of properties, ranging from affordable shared spaces to expensive trophy offices in some of the world’s most desirable business locations. In mid-2020, average gross rates for offices nationwide stood at $35 per square foot with the priciest offices located in New York and California. Within these states, the sub-markets commanding the highest rates are:

•   New York: Midtown Manhattan at $87 per square foot, specifically in Chelsea, the Plaza District, and Gramercy Park.
•   California: The Shoreline/Mountain View area, in which prices reach $130 per square foot, followed by Santa Monica and the SoMa district of San Francisco.

Average asking rates in other prime office markets are as follows:

•   Seattle: $70 per square foot, higher in Lake Union and the CBD.
•   Washington DC: $55 per square foot.
•   Cambridge and Boston: $40 and $80 per square foot, respectively.
•   Los Angeles: Averaging $45 per square foot.
•   Chicago: Exceeding $40 per square foot in the West Loop.
•   Raleigh-Durham: $35 per square foot for CBD properties.

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The Wall Street area is internationally renowned as the world’s financial capital and is an exceptional place to do business. Wall Street itself is a 0.5-mile long artery located between Broadway and South Street, and has a high concentration of highly successful banking and financial headquarters as well as large corporates.

Stock trading activities have been taking place in Wall Street since the 19th century. Today, Wall Street is a hub for firms involved in investment banking, private equity, hedge funds, and asset management. Although finance, banking and insurance are clearly predominant in the area, tourism is also an important industry, since Wall Street and the adjacent alleys are one of the premier tourist destinations within New York City. This area is home to important landmarks, such as the Lincoln Center, the Federal Reserve Building, and the Museum of American Finance.

Some of the most important organizations based in Wall Street are the New York Stock Exchange, Manhattan Chase Bank, Charles Swab, Deutsche Bank, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Deloitte, BlackRock, Citibank, but there is also a large number of businesses involved in the food services and leisure, which cater to the area’s tourists and daytime population.

Wall Street is known for attracting some of the brightest talent around, and although the recession caused job losses, employment gains have been evident for some time. There are many corporate recruiters based in Wall Street, including Michael Page, Amity Search Partners, Oxbridge, Foster McCay Group, Smith Hanley, SG Partners, and Glocap Search. However, the area is no longer the largest employment hub in the city, since that position now belongs to the Silicon Alley area located in Midtown / Lower Manhattan. Read the rest of this entry »

Louisville is a mid-sized urban center in Boulder County with a population of approximately 20,000 people. The city has a central location within Colorado and is within easy reach of other major cities, with Denver only a 30-minute drive away and Boulder just 10 minutes to the west.

Key Industries and Employers in Louisville, Colorado

Key industries in Louisville include education, real estate, healthcare services, retail, trade, transportation, finance, and leisure. The city’s industry base is reflected in the list of main employers, which are Avista Adventist Hospital (with nearly 700 employees), telecommunications firm Zayo Group, the Sierra Nevada Space Corporation, the City of Louisville, Fresca Foods, Balfour Senior Living, and technology solutions company Medtronic.

The labor market in Louisville generally evidences low unemployment levels, which at an average of around 3.5 percent are well below the national average. The number of college graduates is above the US average, standing at nearly 70 percent (compared to 28 percent US-wide), and 35 percent of Louisville residents have a graduate degree. Self-employment levels are 18 percent higher than those in the Denver – Aurora metropolitan area. Read the rest of this entry »

The city of Venice is located on Florida’s west coast, approximately 20 miles south of Sarasota and 60 miles away from Fort Myers. Administratively, Venice is part of Sarasota County and has a permanent population of over 22,000 people, although this figure increases during the winter months, when many snowbirds move to the city temporarily.

Key Industries and Employers in Venice, Florida

In its origins, the city’s economy relied on agriculture, fishing, and trade, but currently Venice has a diverse economy that has so far been able to weather the global economic downturn. The largest industries are healthcare and educational services, followed by retail, trade, accommodation and food services, finance, insurance, and manufacturing. Tourism and recreation are also essential to Venice’s economy due to the city’s seaside location and proximity to several natural reserves.

Key employers in Venice include manufacturing firms PGT Industries, which was named one of Florida’s best employers by Forbes (with over 2,800 employees) and Tervis Tumbler, Venice Regional Bayfront Health, Bon Secours Venice Healthcare, and Publix Supermarkets.

Venice has seen a marked increase in the job market over this last year (2019) of 2.6%, with only a slightly lower unemployment rate (3.3%) than in the rest of the US (3.9%). Predictions show future job growth over the next decade to be just over 42%. Venice resident’s average income comes in at just under $40,000 a year, which is higher than the average income across the US and currently stands at just under $30,000 annually. Read the rest of this entry »

New York City is home to more than 500 million square feet of office space, which make it one of the world’s largest office markets. While that seems a large amount, space shortages are a reality, and not only in terms of the offices available. Rising rental values mean that many New York companies are choosing to downsize or to make changes to their office layout to maximize space and cut costs. Nowadays, it is not uncommon for companies to move to office premises that are up to 25 percent smaller, yet the amount of people sharing that space remains the same.

Another way in which the amount of office space allocated to each staff member is getting scarcer is because of current trends towards open plan offices and collaborative spaces. The concept of the sharing economy has extended into office design and space allocation, with shared workspaces becoming increasingly more common, which means individual desks are being replaced by large long tables. In fact, New York leads the nation’s provision of shared office space, and even in traditional offices there have been changes in the desk space – meeting or collaborative space ratio, with the balance switching towards the latter.

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The following is the sixth in our series focusing on providing information on the various types of office space available, from business parks to hot desking and project space, business incubators, conventional office accommodation to virtual office space options, managed offices to shared co-working options.

Typically located in business districts of larger cities, serviced offices are becoming more of a standard and less of a trend for today’s small business owner. And why not? Renting a serviced office space cuts down on a number of issues and costs associated with having an office. Most importantly, rental of a serviced office space provides an immediate solution to the office space problem.

The Whole Package

Serviced offices are ready to go as soon as you sign the agreement. There is very little delay between deciding to open an office and actually having an office ready for business.

Serviced offices are usually rented on a month to month basis, as opposed to the long term three to five year commitment of a traditional office space lease. The monthly rent may appear to be slightly higher than the traditional lease price, but the whole package aspect of serviced offices makes them a better deal. New businesses, start-ups, and small businesses may neglect to calculate the additional costs of furnishings, equipment, and staff when they consider opening an office. The whole package concept eliminates the worry of those forgotten expenses.

Rental costs frequently include the costs of:

Furnishings

Businesses can begin straight to work on the first day without any delays waiting for deliveries of desks, lamps, bookshelves, or chairs. A serviced office includes all of these. In addition, conference rooms, kitchens, meeting spaces, and other shared amenities are available as needed. Conference rooms, for example, can be rented by the hour as an addendum to your office space lease. Read the rest of this entry »

The following is the fifth in our series focusing on providing information on the various types of office space available, from business parks to hot desking and project space, business incubators, conventional office accommodation, managed offices to shared co-working options.

For a business in need a prestigious office address and presence without an office lease, virtual office options are a great solution.

What is a Virtual Office?
A virtual office is a most effective solution to the dilemma faced by small businesses and entrepreneurs. Virtual offices provide an address, usually in a recognized business district, and other amenities that allow users to maintain a professional image without having to maintain a high cost conventional office space.

Why have a Virtual Office?
A virtual office allows work from home entrepreneurs more economic efficiency. Having a virtual office helps retain the image of a traditional business, with a professional office address, without the expense of renting an office in the business district. Virtual office users have the benefit of being able to flexibly match expenses with incomes increasing or decreasing the services as their revenue fluctuates.

Virtual offices can help reduce overhead while maintaining a high level of professionalism. They provide you with both communication services and physical space services, based on your need and determined by you.

What is included?
Generally, a virtual provider offers a business address and mail handling services, at the least. At the most, programs will include physical offices, dedicated phone lines with receptionist service, and meeting spaces. Virtual office services offer a variety of packages that include some or all of these amenities. Some services allow you to customize a package to suit your particular needs. Read the rest of this entry »