Atlanta’s Colliers International, one of the city’s largest commercial real estate firms, has partnered with real estate technology platform LiquidSpace to fill unused space in their inventory and provide a new offering for those seeking flexible workspace. LiquidSpace, a Silicon Valley-based startup, says that this type of partnership with an institutional CRE firm is the first of its kind in the field.
“This partnership combines the power of the LiquidSpace platform with the real estate expertise and value added services of Colliers,” says LiquidSpace CEO Mark Gilbreath. “For an entrepreneur, this means a one-stop-shop to address your office needs at every stage of your growth, from idea to IPO and beyond.”
LiquidSpace is the largest real-time discovery network for office space — they currently serve over 3,000 venue partners in 750 cities. The platform allows those who are looking for flexible space — a satellite office for a remote team, project space, or temporary office — to connect to owners and operators with unfilled space.
You can search for a space that best fits your needs, filtering the search with options like amenities to 24/7 access to pet-friendly availability. They also facilitate the leasing process and legal framework.
Now, some of Colliers Atlanta’s inventory will be integrated into the LiquidSpace network. The offering is also a boon to building owners, as it can temporarily fill space before a more permanent occupant is identified.
Gilbreath says the partnership came about when he spoke to Colliers Atlanta CEO and President Bob Matthews about bridging the demand in the city for such flexible offices. Co-working spaces like Industrious, WeWork and Roam have filled much of this demand, but as their growing popularity attests, the need continues to grow.
“The Flex office market, particularly in cities that are growth oriented, has become an important part of how companies consider their workspace,” says Matthews. “As brokers, the idea of advising your clients who are driven to do shorter term deals, whether tenants or landlords, has always been a challenge until LiquidSpace came on the scene about 5 years ago.”
“It is a growing segment of the market and I expect it can be maybe 15 to 20 percent of the future market,” says Matthews.
Gilbreath says Atlanta’s business sector growth makes it a strong market for the company. Moreover, as tech companies and startups move outside the traditional hubs, regions like the Southeast can benefit more from their offering.
“The earliest adopters of Flexible Office — high growth technology companies and other dynamic organizations, had been relatively concentrated in major tech hubs like Silicon Valley and New York. This is no longer the case,” says Gilbreath. “Companies are now following talent. Atlanta has a vibrant startup community and it continues to attract larger companies who are either opening new offices in Atlanta or scaling their existing footprints.”
“The Colliers-LiquidSpace partnership is the first step in a broader initiative to grow our flexible office footprint across the region.”
Colliers Atlanta will begin rolling out the product features over the next few months with a full launch slated by the end of Q1.
Inline images via Liquidspace
