It takes much longer to rebuild something than it does to destroy it. Even in the past year with the removal of 42% of office inventory from the Greater Cleveland market, there are signs of recovery.
“Before COVID, Downtown Cleveland was riding high,” says Nathan Kelly, president of real estate services for Playhouse Square. “We were actually ahead of the game compared to other cities, thanks to a smart move to convert outdated office space into vibrant residential areas.”
Companies were drawn to density because talent wanted to be where the action was, he says. The suburbs are trying to imitate that, with amenity-laden places like Legacy Village, Crocker Park, Pinecrest, Van Aken District and more. Owners of individual residential and office buildings are trying to add workplace amenities, too.
One example is Downtown’s 52-year-old AECOM Building. It saw vacancy rates drop from 45.2% in 2019 to 26.3% in 2024, according to Moody’s Ratings.
“You have to treat your office buildings like a hotel,” says Terry Coyne, vice chairman of the Cleveland office of brokerage firm Newmark. (He handles leasing at AECOM.) “It’s all about amenities.”
That can include a wide swath of features such as heated indoor parking, hotel-style lobbies or offering the latest interactive technologies and huddle rooms. Employees are looking for things like tenant lounges, childcare services and snack bars. A big plus is state-of-the-art fitness equipment.
Another way to view a return to the office is to see it as beneficial to employees, especially in terms of advancement.
“A person who is 25 years old — how do you train them?” Coyne says. “Working together has value. We learn a ton. People like to hang out with people. When you’re working from home, you get promoted less, get fired more and earn less.”
“Working from the office isn’t just about butts in seats — it’s about building culture, reducing turnover, knowledge transfer, process improvement and, yes, command and control,” Kelly added. “Some roles like customer service jobs with high turnover probably aren’t coming back to the office in a big way, and that’s fine. Not every position needs to be in person.”
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