One of the world’s most impressive development projects is close to being finalized. The super-famous spaceship structure that’s to serve Apple’s needs in Cupertino, Calif., is a few months away from welcoming the first employees. The tech giant announced in a prepared statement that the campus, dubbed Apple Park, will be open to its people in April. Since the start of construction in December 2013, the project has been under close observation by fans and opponents alike, buzzed constantly by curious drones. The material they gathered didn’t disappoint, in fact, viewing any of the multitude of aerial videos, the astonishing attention to detail is crazy. It’s almost impossible not to let your mind drift towards the device that made Apple, Apple—the Mac. Apple Park is estimated to have a $5 billion price tag—a figure CEO Tim Cook didn’t dispute on a 2015 TV interview. The project was born out of Steve Jobs’ idea of developing a center for creativity and collaboration and features extraordinary structures throughout its 175 acres. Its ring-shaped main building totals 2.8 million square feet and is entirely covered in the world’s largest panels of curved glass. It will be surrounded by a lush canopy of over 9,000 native and drought-resistant trees, leaving almost no cement-laden from the campus Apple had acquired from HP. The 1,000-seat theater at Apple Park will be named the Steve Jobs Theater to honor his memory and the enormous impact he had on Apple and the world; the 20-foot-tall glass cylinder with 165 feet in diameter, covered by a metallic carbon-fiber roof, will be situated atop a hill, one of the highest points within Apple Park, overlooking meadows and the main building. “Steve’s vision for Apple stretched far beyond his time with us. He intended Apple...

In 2016, major cities such as Hong Kong have seen a significant 45% increase in the amount of coworking office spaces being offered. Similarly, the past two years have resulted in more than 100 operators providing coworking environments in China’s top cities and more than 20 in Singapore according to JLL reports. Although numbers still lag behind those in the West, the proliferation of coworking spaces in Australia, Singapore, China, and other metropolitan areas in the Asia Pacific region show a growing inclination for flexibility and non-traditional offices for both employees and corporations alike. A trendy alternative Coworking is a style of work that involves sharing a space with others not employed by the same company. Occupiers of a coworking space generally have access to a number of resources including wifi, private offices, conference rooms, cafes, work desks, and communal space on a shared floor. Coworking spaces also provide a low risk, agile solution for companies and individuals that do not want to invest in the high fixed costs and long leases required of a traditional office. Yet far more than the resources, the greatest value in coworking comes from the relationships, knowledge sharing, and collaboration fostered by accommodating people of various industries, backgrounds, and levels of experience into one single workspace. Nowadays coworking spaces can take on a variety of forms from ones that are catered to freelancers and startups to those for a single business. Corporate interest in coworking, especially, is growing. More and more businesses see the value in sending their employees into a community in closer contact, as JLL Singapore research analyst Jiemei Tan describes, “with startups, entrepreneurs and freelancers, [that] allows for an unhampered exchange of ideas with these stalwarts of innovation.” In the Asia Pacific region too, the...

It’s the perfect combination: a boost in local jobs, diminishing office supply, and rising rents. The three have positioned the Atlanta office market for a record-breaking year. With a conservative lens, JLL lists the Atlanta office space vacancy rating at 17.5 percent and average rents of $22.54 per square foot. Transwestern confidently states a 15.9 percent vacancy rate and average rates closer to $25. In both scenarios, this quarter marks one of the highest asking rents in nearly 30 years. There is still room to grow. Conditions suggest that asking rents could approach $30 per square foot: PM Realty Group estimates that Atlanta broke its 2000 occupancy gain record. The market totaled almost 3.7 million square feet of office space absorption for 2015. The resulting 14.2 percent vacancy rate for Class A properties broke a 15-year low, according to Transwestern. Atlanta’s Class A direct occupancy rates broke a 14-year record, increasing by 300 basis points to 86.7% over the prior 12 months. Class B office space accounted for 29.7% of the total net absorption for 2015. Just three years ago, Class B office product saw negative absorption in Atlanta. Demand for quality office space in Atlanta continues to grow. BisNow reports that Metro Atlanta is expected to add 60,000 jobs per year for the next few years. Nearly 25 percent will be “premium” jobs that require office space—yet only 885,000 square feet of office space is under construction for the year. If 885,000 square feet doesn’t sound like a game-changing amount of space to you, you’re not alone. It’s barely a drop in the preverbal bucket. With the exception of residential, many investors still see real estate as a risky investment. Funding for new construction remains scarce, which means that existing Class A properties...