The Empty Office Myth
The office isn’t dead. It’s just misunderstood.
We’ve been sold a story: hybrid work killed commercial real estate. Desks gather dust, leases go unrenewed, and downtowns turn into ghost towns. But what if the problem isn’t the office itself? What if it’s the kind of office we’re building?
The old model—cubicles, fluorescent lights, and soul-crushing commutes—was a factory for paper-pushers. It wasn’t built for humans who crave connection, creativity, or meaning. Today’s workers aren’t rejecting offices; they’re rejecting bad offices.
The opportunity in commercial real estate isn’t to fill empty spaces with more of the same. It’s to reimagine what “workplace” means. Coffee shops are packed because they feel alive. Coworking spaces hum because they foster collisions. What if your building was less about square footage and more about sparking ideas?
The myth says offices are dying. The truth? They’re waiting to be reborn. Will you build the next one, or keep leasing ghosts?