Recent research reveals that, as the co-working movement begins to gain more popularity, suburban coworking holds great potential in the marketplace.
The Matrix Bulletin Coworking October 2019 report shows 63.6 million square feet of coworking space in urban submarkets, representing 2.7% of total office space. Suburban submarkets held 30.4 million square feet of coworking space or 1.0% of the total office stock.
Despite the continued dominance of urban coworking spaces, however, the report states: “As the industry matures, we expect that coworking will rise in suburban office markets.”
The report reveals suburban markets have a great supply of small office spaces, compared to urban locations.
Of the top 50 markets identified in the report, Las Vegas has the largest proportion of suburban coworking spaces. The city has 2.1% of the total suburban office stock share, representing more than 450,000 square feet of space.
West Palm Beach (2.0%), Orange County (1.9%), Miami (1.9%) and Los Angeles (1.8%) also rank in the top-five in terms of suburban coworking market share. At the other end of the urban scale, Tampa, Indianapolis, Kansas City and Denver all have a 0.7% of the market share.
Suburban Coworking: Benefits and Challenges
Co-working and shared office spaces located in areas outside of and surrounding major cities bring many benefits to both employers and employees. The Yardi report continues on by saying: “Suburban spaces tend to draw clients from the ranks of people who work from home and want an office to have somewhere to go and/or for socialization, as well as large corporations that need small satellite offices.”
For individuals, co-working in an areas closer to their home dramatically cuts down on, or often times even eliminates their commutes. Having this flexibility allows workers to fit their daily responsibilities around their job. So, they can, for example, run to the grocery store directly after work without worry of anything getting warm, drop off and pick up their children from school & more.
A recent report demonstrates millennials overwhelmingly move out of urban areas and to suburban environments when they have children. The study also suggests many generation Z workers want to work in a coworking environment when they move out to the suburbs, but currently have trouble finding spaces due to the lack of availability. This is because many millennials have worked in some type of shared of cooperative work environment at sometime in the past, with so many large and small companies alike making this a priority in their offices and headquarters.
For companies and businesses, this has a positive impact on employers and employees alike. By giving seasoned staff the option to reduce their commute, employers can retain the best talent. This can help companies maintain a diverse workforce. As a result, suburban coworking spaces also tend to reflect a wide variety of professionals. Because of this, many organizations have been increasingly looking into housing their staff in smaller, remote office spaces like PIVOT Co-working and shared office spaces!
As with everything, there is downsides to the growing suburban co-working trend. Co-working spaces located outside of the major cities. Much of the draw of co-working in the city is the ability to have a diverse and unique blend of shops, restaurants and other activities to engage in before, after or even during a break from work. PIVOT Work Spaces has addressed this issue by placing all of our locations in small, walkable town and ‘town centers’; Which all feature a wide array of places to eat, shop and visit during and after your work day.
Impact on Local Communities
Suburban coworkers tend to be more invested in their local community, compared to urban coworkers, because they often live and work in the same locale.
As a result, most suburban coworking spaces play an active and beneficial role in the local community. For example, non-profit events and workshops that help bring people together while introducing more people to the value of coworking.
For suburban coworking spaces, success is far more dependent on the community’s acceptance and engagement of the space. However, once this has been achieved, suburban spaces can be rewarded with a highly active and loyal community.
The Yardi report concludes: “It makes sense that coworking thrives in metros where vacant space is hard to find and expensive, and conversely is less in demand in areas where space is plentiful and cheaper. However, the industry is new and developing, so it would be a mistake to draw firm conclusions.”
Therefore, PIVOT actively seeks and participates in events and organizations that help to strengthen the local communities that we both live in and serve. Some of these include the Ellicott City Partnership, The Catonsville Chamber of Commerce and more!
Co-Working Space in the suburbs of Baltimore
PIVOT Work Spaces offers flexible, modern work spaces for freelancers, small business owners, people who work from home, or anyone who needs shared office space with no permanent commitments. Take a 3-D tour of our locations and learn about our membership options today!