In our next normal, it seems everything — including how we think of, use, and interact with commercial and residential real estate properties across asset classes — is ripe for reinvention. As we reassess everything from how and where we work to new considerations for hospitality venues and worsening housing shortages, the future of real estate is undergoing a historic transformation.
As many companies struggle with return-to-office plans, people rethink their travel and entertainment habits, and housing prices drive demand for better and more plentiful rental options, the real estate industry is leading the charge in defining and devising the next era of public and private places.
Multi-use properties offer an innovative solution for many of our post-pandemic concerns, including the human need for more flexibility and connection, spurring more thoughtful and intentional uses of space in this next era of real estate, architecture, and design.
Adaptability Equals New Audiences
We’ve become accustomed to mixed-use projects — think: a hotel or office building with retail offerings on street level, for instance. However, by reimagining these so-called commingled spaces — say a hotel/housing hybrid — visionary investors, developers, owners, and property managers can optimize not only their available leasing opportunities, but also the audience they reach with their projects.
Single-purpose spaces such as dedicated apartment/condo structures, office buildings, and hotels can only appeal to one type of customer by design. But by offering more opportunities to fully maximize a space that isn't dictated by societal trends and seasonal fluctuations, you increase investment capital, cash flow and customer buy-in in today’s evolving marketplace.
Meeting the Customer Where They Are
Introducing residential components into the mix of commercial real estate projects is a game changer and a community builder. Having an area to live, work, and play seamlessly creates a sense of community as well as reduced commute times and more connection to our surroundings — aspects of daily life that people crave more of now.
Think about how people would use a space 24 hours a day — from their morning latte to their 9-to-5 to their social lives. This is the concept behind the 20-minute neighborhood — an ambitious urban planning project adopted by several American, European, and Australian cities — that all aspects of daily life (home, work, school, shopping, entertainment) could be conducted by walking, biking, or public transport in 20 minutes.
Mixed-use projects take this “live local” motto to the next level. By combining apartments or condos with office, retail, and hospitality venues all situated in one development with plenty of open green space in between (URBY Staten Island, The Hub on Causeway in Boston, and Fifth + Broadway in Nashville all come to mind), real estate professionals can help create communities that cater to a more conscious lifestyle.
Blurring the Lines of Design
In our post-pandemic world, a greater emphasis on health and wellness is introducing infrastructure that blurs the lines between hospitality and residential and office spaces. This shift away from sterile settings that isolate to shared spaces and common areas for social connection is being driven by design that offers maximum flexibility, both operationally and aesthetically.
Transforming underutilized spaces into places for wellness, connection, and collaboration are highly popular offerings for tenants today, such offering communal coworking options that feel like your living room, installing a gym or spa where an unused conference room once sat, or sprucing up an outdoor area where people can gather to work or socialize.
The human need for enhanced flexibility, connection, and wellbeing can be met through these creative mixed-use developments — setting the property apart and improving its long-term appeal (and vacancy rates).
Future-Fit Your Investment Plans
To learn how Capital Connect can help you raise capital to invest in mixed-use assets or other real estate transactions, please visit Capital Connect or connect with us directly. Capital Connect's agile and adaptable platform can supercharge your investments with the most extensive real estate contact database in the business, plus a full tech stack that supports email marketing, analytics, client relationship management and lead management.