The future of multi-tenant offices and its parking facilities

Lower office occupancy requires new demands on multi-tenant offices. Colliers’ Director Harold Coenders called for a redefinition of office spaces during Provada: “…we used to talk about square meters per full-time equivalent (FTE), today we talk about square meters per employee present”. Inspired by Colliers ’ session, we highlight the impact of this transformation on parking management within a multi-tenant environment.

What we know is that the average office occupancy has dropped from 48% before the corona crisis to 30% afterwards. This evolution also has an impact on parking occupancy and EV charging demands. We experience an uncomfortable mismatch because the existing parking management systems have not adapted to the new behavior of remote working:

• We rent a complete parking lot
• We barely use between 30% to 60% of the car parks during working days; with a peak on Tuesdays and Thursdays (Coenders called this the camel effect)
• The car park is empty during nighttime, weekends and holidays
• The system cannot differentiate between the new type of users (co-working, events, etc.)

“The classic office infrastructure becomes more a hotel-driven ERP system.” Harold Coenders, Partner and Director Occupier Services at Colliers

Pivoting parking management and EV charging

The transformation of the traditional office in its original form into a hybrid multifunctional environment office also requires advanced management of car parks, including EV charging. And certainly with Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) thought in mind. How do we deal with the footprint that we use so little?

The parking of the future is the one that will work much more like a hotel ERP system, adjusting to the profiles that make use of the space at different moments of the day. Instead of long-term fixed contracts, on-demand parking and EV charging requests are done or adjusted automatically in real time by a smart system or are managed via reservations on local or third party apps by employees, visitors, shoppers, etc.

Services are integrated end-to-end to make the experience of each user customized and easy. All services are processed in one payment.

Benefits for all stakeholders

If real estate companies move quickly in their transformation and digitalization of their car parks to accommodate to this new reality, the benefits will be plenty for all stakeholders:

Building owner

• Create multiple additional revenue streams from the same spaces, maximizing the ROI of their locations
• Manage their parking and EV spaces flexibly to keep their buildings full
• Meet the demand to accommodate multiple types of uses and visitors
• Make their properties future proof

Property Manager

• Resolve the complexity of a variable multitenant environment, removing all operational hassles
• Have a real time overview of all operations in one central place and with the same data and insights
• Manage all contracts, reporting and invoicing of services with ease

Tenant

• Guarantee access to smart mobility services to all employees and visitors
• Have a clear overview of personal usage and trends
• Easily adapt rented space and reduce operational costs with on-demand flexible services

End user

• Have all smart mobility services available when needed
• Smooth and customized experience
• Be able to self-manage my account details, reservations and payments

Electromobility platform: towards a more sustainable future for real estate

Capacity is an electromobility platform that provides seamless and efficient parking and electric vehicle charging solutions to cities, businesses, and communities. Its innovative technology, combined with a commitment to promote sustainable transportation practices, has set the ground in the world of smart parking and EV charging towards a greener, cleaner and more sustainable future for public and private real estate.

Six ways in which Capacity achieves the above benefits:

1. Through the accurate monitoring of occupancy, real estate developers and cities can build smaller parking locations. This reduces the need for large parking lots, decreasing its carbon footprint.
2. The integration of parking and electric vehicle (EV) charging services enhances and promotes the use of EVs. This encourages the transition towards cleaner and more sustainable transportation practices.
3. The Capacity platform is ready to connect with more sustainable transport solutions like Mobility as a Service (MaaS), e-bikes, and e-steps. This further promotes the use of eco-friendly transport options.
4. Real-time availability and simple booking of mobility services, among other smart features, promote sustainable transportation practices, encouraging drivers to leave their car at home or work remotely.
5. The integration to smart power management systems connected to renewable energy (solar panels, wind, etc.) and energy storage systems reduces emissions, and promotes the use of clean EV charging.
6. The Capacity platform helps cities in their transition from on-street to off-street parking, providing building owners with the right technology to open their locations safely to external visitors and transform public parking bay areas into bigger sidewalks or bike paths, all more friendly with the environment.

This is how Capacity helps you transform within a multi-tenant environment.