Managing and maintaining through a redevelopment - Equity Office Properties Inc - Focus on Management & Maintenance

Two years ago, Equity Office began to assemble a portfolio of Class A office towers in downtown Stamford that now comprises six buildings with more than 1.5 million square feet of office space, representing 20 percent of the Class A space in Stamford.

The buildings were acquired from banks and lending institutions. The four buildings that adjoin a three-acre plaza, now known as Stamford Plaza, were in need of extensive renovation and refurbishing to position the buildings for future leasing success. Building maintenance, management and leasing, became the immediate challenge and focus.

We initiated an extensive redevelopment program as soon as the first building was purchased. Out of date or worn finishes in the main lobbies, elevators, bathrooms and other common areas were replaced with high quality cherry and mahogany paneling, and granite, ceramic and marble flooring.

We worked with local contractors to improve the interior environment of the buildings, which now includes customized, specialty lighting and dry wall ceilings with architectural accents; materials in elevators and common hallways followed a consistent design element. Updated elevators and bathrooms were improved to conform to ADA requirements. The ambiance of a welcoming, quality workplace was highlighted with lobby furnishings of fine leather seating, custom made area rugs and purchased or commissioned art work.

The successful execution of our redevelopment of Three Stamford Plaza made it the prototype for redevelopment at the three other Plaza buildings. More than $3 million invested in gleaming marble, polished paneling and custom lighting fixtures was part of a broader picture - a larger vision - to position all four buildings into one working environment.

Concurrent with the renovations, we repositioned and renamed the four buildings One, Two, Three and Four Stamford Plaza, to identify their shared location and services. Then we systematically introduced a range of amenities and new services that are accessible to all tenants in our entire Stamford portfolio.

Starting with the cafeteria that existed at Three Stamford Plaza, we added a full service graphics center, several private dining and meeting rooms, a sundry shop, dry cleaner, ATM, car wash, community room with kitchen, and a 4,000 square-foot state of the art Fitness Center that subsequently has been used as the "blueprint" for other corporate headquarters buildings in the Stamford area.

With the exception of the community room and private dining rooms, management of the amenities and services are out-sourced to appropriate professional companies. The parking garages are managed by Standard Parking, and Pro Fitness provides a trained staff to supervise and manage the Fitness Center. To further enhance comfortable tenant access within Stamford Plaza, we painted, re-lighted, air-conditioned and heated the interbuilding connector, which is a hallway connecting all four buildings. This area is now used to display local elementary school artwork.

With major renovations now completed, we have "topped off" the Stamford Plaza buildings with the recent installation of neon light bands around the roofs of the four buildings. Lighted at sunset every night of the year, they make both an architectural and conceptual statement. The bands of light are clearly visible and recognizable from many vantage points in downtown Stamford, and especially from I-95. They announce the presence of Stamford Plaza, orient visitors to the Central Business District, and have introduced a unique architectural element to the city's skyline.

Not only have tenants tolerated in good humor the months of walking around and under scaffolding, but existing and new tenants signed leases for space in all buildings at a record pace, including the latest acquisition, Four Stamford Plaza, even before redevelopment started.

Tenants and new prospects were able to make a commitment based on what they observed at our other buildings, and with the knowledge that Equity Office entered the Stamford commercial real estate arena providing high quality services for the long term. After purchasing a group of somewhat neglected properties, we have continuously increased the level of service and quality of working environment that now sets the standard for this marketplace.

The efforts of the building maintenance, management and leasing departments during the redevelopment period have underscored the day-to-day operations at Stamford Plaza, where providing responsive service to tenants' needs is a constant benchmark.

Because Equity Office is a commercial real estate organization which, in addition to its Fairfield County holdings, owns, manages and leases more than 25 million square feet of office space in 45 markets nationwide, it has a modus operandi that follows a consistent goal: to provide its tenants with the most comfortable and efficient working environment possible. This goal is made viable because of the firm's national resources and stability. The size of its Fairfield County portfolio certainly contributed to our project's success.

David Wilcox General Manager Equity Office Properties

COPYRIGHT 1995 Hagedorn Publication
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