Real estate market’s breakneck pace now shifts — but remains fast-paced
Maine’s fast-paced real estate market may have taken its breath earlier this spring, but the market is clearly shifting at an equally breakneck pace.
For some workers, the home office may become the only office. But for others, the new office could resemble the old office, with more space between workers. Open concept offices may already be on their way out, as employers look for space that can accommodate workers’ social distancing needs.
To be sure, it will continue to evolve as the workplace adjusts to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In our cover story, Renee Cordes talks to insurers, accounting firms and other brick-and-mortar companies about how they’re adjusting to the need for additional space. See “Whatever works,” which starts on Page 16.
On the supply side, Laurie Schreiber talks to the real estate brokers about what they’re hearing from clients and what people are looking for. Drew Sigfridson of Boulos Co. says companies want to move away from congested areas, and are nailing down more square-footage in order to build flexible space with 6-foot spacing. They’re looking for offices with moveable partitions or hard-wall offices, increasing the footprints and space configurations per employee.They’re also considering new construction. See “Spaced out” on Page 22.
We’ve all heard that contractors continue to be busy. Most are still catching up with a backlog of projects that pre-date the pandemic, but in the case of Landry/French Construction, one client had a new project that needed immediate attention. Abbott Laboratories and its diagnostics division are quickly ramping up production of COVID-19 test kits. Landry/French, which already had a full workload, managed to squeeze a project that would have ordinarily been a year-long job into two months. Maureen Milliken has behind-the-scenes details about how the project came together. See “Doing the ‘impossible’” on Page 26.
See the Top 5 commercial sales and leases on Page 15.
See who tops our list of Maine’s largest architecture firms on Page 34.
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