As the economic recovery gets underway, businesses are being advised to refurbish their ageing offices to improve sustainability and lift the dollar value of their assets.
According to a new White Paper from Jones Lang LaSalle, entitled ‘Refurbishing office assets in a down-cycle’, refurbishing ageing assets using current market conditions can help retain existing tenants and position assets ahead of the anticipated rebound in tenant demand in late 2011.
Head of project and development services, Kevin Hastings, said the research paper found that investing in refurbishments could pay dividends of up to 21 percent in the current market.
“A major challenge for owners of ageing properties is that tenants are demanding next-generation workspaces that have sustainable features.
“Even in a weakened market, sustainability is key when refurbishing an asset… relatively straightforward changes such as installing lighting timers and zoning to improve power efficiencies will provide simple returns in one or two years’ time,” he said.
According to Jones Lang LaSalle, such refurbishments could include: improving the building’s facade, providing high quality finishes to the lobby and other common areas, upgrading amenities, improving the building’s services (lift waiting times, general and back-up power provisions) and introducing much greater energy saving initiatives to improve energy efficiency and overall sustainability.
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