Corporate real estate is on a 'cliff edge' as firms race to rethink communal spaces

Corporate real estate is on a 'cliff edge' as firms race to rethink communal spaces Getty Images Companies are realising they don't need vast spaces, which will leave a swath of commercial real estate empty in the coming years As businesses downsize in the hybrid-work era, empty offices could become 'flats for millionaires with little daylight' – or an opportunity to reinvent the city centre. "And the investment behind commercial real estate – designed for mass open-plan spaces – means it's not economically or practically viable to repurpose them into homes. We could see these parts of cities become pockets of creativity, filled with community-centred businesses, specialist services and experiential spaces in a more shared environment – Tim Oldman Instead, over the following decade, vacated commercial buildings are set to be updated, transforming areas formerly packed with office workers during workweeks, and nearly deserted over weekends, into "hybrid destinations" filled with greater green spaces, pedestrianised areas and leisure options that keep a more consistent weekly footfall. "Now, we could see these parts of cities become pockets of creativity, filled with community-centred businesses, specialist services and experiential spaces in a more shared environment."