Wolgast Blog

Office Remodel (Part II)

As a business owner or manager, you want to make your working space comfortable, attractive and efficient for your work force.  Currently popular in office settings is open daylighting, LED lamps, replaceable carpet squares and work stations with standing options.   If you don’t own your building, you may feel restricted to make these changes until your ownership status changes, but it’s more likely that your landlord will be willing to work with you to make updates and keep you as a tenant.

Neil Frank, Wolgast’s Director of Architecture, recently designed the remodel of a client’s medical clinic. They needed to reconfigure their space for several additional exam rooms at their existing location. According to Neil, “floorplans often have wasted space that can be put to better use”. The way a building is used changes overtime, compared to the original plan. He said, in this instance, “The biggest space gains were from reconfiguring their waiting area. This allowed us to expand the number of exam rooms.” Another common area used for freeing up space is the storage areas that were once used for file storage. With electronic filing abilities, not as much room is needed for this use.

Great customer service for restaurants is changing. Many people I know have been understanding that staff is stretched in the back of house as well as the front of the house, but as the labor shortage continues, how long can existing staff keep meeting the needs of patrons? An answer could be automation or artificial intelligence to make specific tasks quicker and allow staff to focus on more meaningful tasks.

When do existing environmental hazards effect building ownership most?

Have you considered commercial investment properties to add to your portfolio?  On a surface level, it seems like a long-term, but easy investment that will generate ongoing income and also potentially appreciate in value the longer you own it.  For those who have capital to invest, is it the right type of investment for you?

Once you’ve already determined the approximate size of the space you need, your budget, general location desired, and that the investment will fit within your business objectives, it’s time to start shopping for suitable building for your company changes.