Commercial Investment Real Estate November/December 2018 | Página 12

MARKET
FOR ECAST
Mixed-Use Trends
How is the social media generation influencing mixed-use development?
by Gregory M. Freedman
T
Integrated, Not Separated
Traditionally, mixed-use developments have been the norm in
urban locations, where density, intensity, and use types needed
to be vertically commingled to justify land prices. For example,
the developments were a mix of retail on the ground level with
other uses above, such as hotel, office, or residential, all distinctly
separate. What’s more, the floor plans within the separated uses
were sectioned further.
In suburban locations, mixed-use typically meant two or more
different uses with no homogeny located within one larger property
parcel — for example, an apartment building and a grocery store.
Now, the shift of developments to integrated rather than
separated uses is not so much a trend as it is the new reality.
10
November | December 2018
The paradigm shift of the like-and-share generation’s desire for
community and experiences can be recognized across all com-
mercial real estate sectors.
Social Over Everything
In today’s business world, people actually want to be around other
people. For the modern worker, coworking provides a means to
produce in an innovative environment, subsuming the creative
energy of those around. Prior generations were taught to con-
form to work in silos during the conventional 9-to-5 job, whereas
recent generations have evolved to embrace the freedom and team
collaboration found in open offices with access to live-and-play
amenities just a few steps away.
This movement is vibrant in shared workspace concepts such
as Roam, WeWork, Regus, Venture X, and hundreds of others;
it’s a sector that is expanding exponentially. More and more,
corporations also are embracing the open office layout or adopt-
ing a variety of workspace options under one roof to meet the
varying needs of employees.
As the retail landscape evolves with brick-and-mortar
closings, the only retailers truly succeeding and showing growth
are those that offer elements of experience and a place of gathering,
COMMERCIAL INVESTMENT REAL ESTATE
he Madison Avenue corner office is a thing of the past,
living spaces have shrunk, and shopping is more conve-
nient and entertaining than ever — all on one city block.
The term mixed-use has shifted toward an integrated
model of shared uses that complement and leverage each other
to create a cohesive and communal ecosystem. Driving the trend
is the social media generation’s need for a more collaborative and
communal lifestyle with live-work-play amenities.