The ongoing movement back to the cities has created more and more interest in mixed-use space. While the classic model of residences over retail has been around for years, modern mixed properties offer a much broader range of use types.
Understanding Mixed-Use Development
A mixed-use building is simply one that does more than one thing at once. An office building with a couple of floors of retail qualifies as is an apartment building that sits on top of medical offices In large cities, buildings may combine retail, office and multi-family uses under a single roof. The only other key component is that the property have some sort of accessibility to pedestrians. This is why they are typically located in cities or in suburban downtown areas.
If you've spent any time in New York, Chicago, San Francisco or other highly dense cities, you might wonder what the hullabaloo is about having a building do a couple of things at once. After all, this type of development is the norm in most cities. However, modern mixed-use developments are being built with a wider range of uses and with a greater degree of intentionality. They frequently also carry tighter ties to transit networks, more modern amenities and environmental certifications like LEED.
Mixed-Use Development and Your Business
Once you get into the area bounded by the demising walls of your suite, occupying a multiple use building is really no different than occupying any other space of similar size and quality. An office space is an office space, after all. The differences come into play with everything surrounding your space, and they can impact your experience as a tenant.
Lines in mixed properties are blurred. Your workers could end sharing elevators with residents, patients or shoppers. Typically, a blended application property will have common areas that are tailored either more to the dominant use of the property or to serve a blend of applications. If you are looking for a traditional Class A office building lobby, for example, you might not get it in a mixed-use property.
Sharing your space with other types of tenants can result in both advantages and drawbacks. Imagine how easy it could be to recruit people to a building where they can get their coffee in the morning, go to work all day, grab dinner and buy a pair of jeans at night, and then go up to bed, all without ever having to leave. On the other hand, the noises and odors that could come from having your office directly above a coffee shop that roasts its own beans might be less attractive.
Ultimately, given the popularity of mixed-use workspaces among the hard-to-please Millennial workforce, the benefits of occupying blended buildings usually cancel out the drawbacks. Nevertheless, if you are considering one, pay careful attention to how the other types of tenants will impact your occupancy in the building. If you don't see any potential problems and the space meets your other criteria, consider signing the lease.
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