Chicago office spaces originally suited for law and accounting firms are being repurposed to attract tech startups and the firms who want to emulate that culture, says Howard Ecker, whose eponymous Chicago-based firm, founded 38 years ago, matches tenants to space.
He described to Blue Sky some ways startup culture is impacting the local commercial office space scene. Below are his descriptions of some trends.
Responses edited for length and clarity.
REMEMBER LUNCH AT THAT LONG TABLE IN GRADE SCHOOL? You go to a startup community and you can’t tell in any way or shape or form who started the company versus the newest employee, because they’re both sitting the exact same kind of space.
It’s not even a cubicle. It’s benching — just a long table with several people sitting at it with a computer screen in front of them; but no walls or even partial walls around them.
The law firms are getting away from various size offices based on age and productivity, and more either one size offices for all, or one size office for partners and no offices for associates, but cubicles or benching.
MORE CTA, LESS METRA FOCUSED: In Chicago, how close you were to the train station was always a really important question. Today, it’s how close you are to the L stop for employees. Public transportation and accessibility to bike routes is really important.
We made two deals recently, one at 900 W. Lake Street and at 200 S. Wabash, both of them with very successful startup tech companies. In each case in front of the building is an elevated stop.
SPACE NEEDED TO PARK WHEELS. GARAGES NOT NECESSARY: They want to know “Is there a place where I can store my bike, so I can ride my bike to work?”
We’re in a great old building at 35 East Wacker Drive, the Jewelers Building. They are already providing bike storage in the building.
People don’t discuss if the building has a garage anymore. Today the president probably doesn’t even have a car. He doesn’t care if the building has garage space.
PET PROJECTS ARE A BIG DEAL: Things like dog-friendly buildings are more common today. Building owners, forever, said “No, you can’t bring a dog to work.” That’s ridiculous. Now, that’s a question that companies ask. If it’s not a dog-friendly building they won’t consider it.
For Google, that was a major issue.
WORKOUTS AT WORK: One thing you’ve seen change is workout facilities. As people stay at the office longer, they want a place to take a shower and exercise.
If you’re a company, and you have the whole building, then for sure you’re putting them in. Some of these places actually have classes that run on a fairly regular basis. In many cases, they’re free.
MORE WALKING AND TALKING: What we’re seeing now is companies like Zappos where they try and put departments that have synergies as far apart as they can. They want the people to walk to the other departments — and while they’re walking, they talk to other people, meet other people and get ideas.
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SHOW YOUR WORK: Companies got away in the ’80s and ’90s from the workplace reflecting the values and the culture of the company. Today, when you walk into one of these startups, they want you to immediately get a feel for who this company is and their value is and what their culture is.
At Manifest in Chicago, you see all the projects they’re working on, whether they’re on electronic screens or whiteboards.
MOVING FURNITURE: There are computer systems now where you reserve a seat or a desk, and when you get there, there are little suitcases with all of your stuff — the picture of your kids. At the end of the day, you leave it there. If you’re not going back to that office, you pack it up.
You’re going to see furniture with computers built into them. You put your cell phone down, and that’s going to I.D. you, and all your data will be brought up. The table you’re sitting at has a keyboard embedded in it. I’ve seen this in various places being tested.
There’s a chair that’s a desk on wheels that has a bucket under the seat where you can put your stuff.
‘HOTELING’ EMPLOYEES: Accounting firms are moving toward hoteling, with workers not having assigned desks or offices. A worker in need of an office or conference room can make a reservation weeks ahead, or check into any available space on the spot. In some cases, an employee’s personal effects will be at the station when she arrives.
An accounting firm I present has sensational business, but they’re going to new ways of occupying space. They’re cutting their footprint by 30 percent. They’re providing a third less seats to the employers they have because not everybody is in the office all the time.
It’s the same with associates and other staff that’s out of the office 70 percent of the time. Why should each have a station?
