2015 Year in Review - Melanie Gladwell

What was your most notable project, deal, transaction or professional achievement in 2015? As the pioneer of the shared and serviced office concept almost 40 years ago, Servcorp’s most notable achievement in 2015 was the opening and build-out of our global flagship location at One World Trade Center. Occupying the entire 85th floor of this iconic building, it is Servcorp’s largest and most invested-in serviced office and coworking location. The office space embodies Servcorp’s mission to provide small and global businesses with otherwise unattainable workspace in highly desired areas and at the most prestigious addresses. Being that One WTC is arguably the most famous address in the world, we knew we had to be in this building. What real estate project, transaction, market trend or product had a significant impact on your industry in 2015? Until now, coworking has typically been offered in Class B or C commercial buildings in what is often referred to as a ‘fraternity-like’ setting.  In 2015, Servcorp opened five ‘5-Star Coworking Lounges’ in Class A buildings in the most prominent global markets – including New York, Paris, London, Tokyo and Sydney – providing hi-tech, high-touch, windowed workstations for less than USD $40/pp/day. Companies have access to all of Servcorp’s world-class amenities including the company’s advanced global IT and communications infrastructure, state-of-the-art meeting rooms and furnishings, client support staff and building amenities, and panoramic views.  Affordable coworking ‘for grown ups’ in luxury settings is an industry game-changer. How will you be supercharging your productivity in 2016? The competitive commercial real estate industry thrives on just-in-time responsiveness and our specific sector is no different. To continue to supercharge our productivity, we’ll continue to invest in the most sophisticated and tech-savvy global technology to increase response time for both ourselves and our clients while also refining the sharing office economy with world class finishings and options to work in a variety of settings to ignite creativity and productivity.  Combining social media applications with our proprietary app, OneAp, will be at the forefront. What emerging trends will drive investment and development in 2016? Although coworking is not a new concept, it has recently resurged in a fresh, new way, making it a hot topic and trend. I think this need and desire for flexibility will propel the growth of this industry. New variations of the concept will continue to emerge and the current players will have to evolve with the demand and be able to cater to different types of clients. While providers in the shared office industry, including Servcorp, will continue to expand their footprint, I think we’ll also see landlords of traditional office space increasingly adopt a version of coworking.