As I’ve mentioned in previous issues, I’m building a 5,000 SF coworking development in Verona, NJ. We open in May.
In order to make this happen, I reached out to a number of potential competitors and did some “secret shopping”. One thing became abundantly clear to me; there are a lot of companies in this space that understand technology but don’t know a thing about real estate.
Take, for example, acoustical putty.
The biggest complaint I heard from users in the spaces was that it was too noisy. People could hear the conversations of other offices; this is obviously a problem. It is also a sign of poor design.
When you cut holes in the drywall to put in electrical sockets and switches, you introduce a way for sound to travel from one office to another. The solution is simple. Cover the outlet with putty and the noise is mitigated.
What I saw again and again in these spaces was that the owners put a premium on high-end technology because that was their background, but when it came time to real estate related issues, they had no idea what they were doing. From my perspective, if you have to shout over your neighbors to be heard on a conference call, the speed of the internet is irrelevant.
This is just one of the many things that my partner and I paid attention to regarding sound, light, and temperature. We want our coworking development to be exceptionally comfortable for the end-user.
If you’re interested in coworking space in New Jersey, please reach out. I’d love to hear from you. Also, the web site is:
https://essexsuites.com/en
P.S. As long as I’m on the topic of Silly Putty, I’d also like to mention that one of the funniest books ever written is Napalm and Silly Putty. The late George Carlin was a brilliant comic, and it’s worth the read.