Suburban Office Parks Gain New Life As Millennials Grow Up

With some tweaks and upgrades, surburban office parks are reinventing themselves to attract new tenants and the millennials ready to start families in the 'burbs.

1 minute read

October 20, 2017, 6:00 AM PDT

By jwilliams @jwillia22


Sprawl

Jeffrey B. Banke / Shutterstock

Aging millennials starting families and moving out of the city into the suburbs may be giving out-of-fashion suburban office parks a new lease on life. Patrick Clark and Rebecca Greenfield of Bloomberg report that companies looking to attract workers have sought out office parks that incorporate some of the amenities most city dwellers have come to expect—including proximity to mass transit—but with the benefits of better schools and a cheaper cost of living.

Many employers, hoping to attract millennials as they age, are trying to marry the best of urban and suburban life, choosing sites near public transit and walkable suburban main streets. “What’s desired downtown is being transferred to suburban environments to attract a suburban workforce,” says Scott Marshall, an executive managing director for investor leasing at CBRE Group.

The trend to the suburbs has been increasing, with the Bloomberg article noting that "Americans are more likely to live in the suburbs today than they were in 2000."

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