The coronavirus pandemic is changing commercial real estate in unpredictable ways. Some landlords will need to find new uses for buildings where demand is drying up as more tenants decide to keep workforces at home, and most buildings will need retrofits to improve protections for tenants that do return.
Legal cannabis cultivation and sales are also spreading to many new jurisdictions, boosting demand for developers and architects that can repurpose old industrial structures and retail outlets for this new industry.
Tenants were already flocking to revamped historic structures such as Chicago's Main Post Office, but to take advantage of the growing demand for such projects, developers need to rethink how they have approached building renovations, especially the installation of new HVAC systems, a key consideration in the coronavirus era.
Viruses are much smaller than bacteria, so something more is needed than traditional HVAC systems, which can filter out bacteria, Sterling Bay Director of Life Sciences Catherine Vorwald said during Bisnow’s Chicago Deep Dish: Repositioning & Renovation webinar July 16.