Office Space

Today, two of my business partners and I from Order Experts LLC, (http://www.orderexperts.com) looked at new office space. We are about to double the company in terms of personnel (not really that big of a deal when we are currently at 5) so we need more space. Additionally, our current office space isn’t really anything to brag about (operated by PS Business Parks: http://www.psbusinessparks.com). I have had office space in the North Lamar Austin complex for one of my businesses, or one of my associate’s businesses since 2000. Strangely, as my lease expiration approaches, my landlord has made no effort to discuss our future plans for tenancy.

My business partners and I are all about density. When I say “density”, I mean lots of people and “living spaces”. A lot of fun buzz words flying around many metro areas trying to describe the idea of living downtown. The idea isn’t anything new, but with gas prices, being able to talk to the places to want to hang out at, and the idea of walking to work all in the same place, everyone seems to be on the band wagon. This of course has created a high demand for downtown living and many changes to the Austin feel (http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/planning).

We looked at some interesting commercial spaces at the new Brazos Place development (http://www.brazosplacecondos.com) on 8^th and Brazos in the former Commodore Hotel Building (circa 1950). The pricing was pretty decent at $199/sq. ft. on the 5^th floor, but going up a floor priced at $219/sq. ft. allowed for a large improvement to the view. Here is a quick view of the Brazos Place Condos in case you refused to click on the link above:

Moving downtown is a great idea for corporate culture, but be prepared to pay for it. There is a reason that downtown city centers seem to gather bankers and lawyers; they’re the only one’s that can afford to pay for it.