Bankrate report from July of last year revealed about one-third of Americans are working a side hustle, with the Millennial and Generation Z cohorts the most likely to be pulling extra hours at a second job. By the time a more recent survey of side hustles was revealed by MarketWatch in April, it appeared the portion of Americans toiling at part-time second jobs had surged to half, with 72% of Generation Z and 62% of Millennials logging overtime at jobs that weren’t their primary vocations.
The seemingly growing American predilection to take on side gigs has helped recraft conventional assumptions about the workforce. But it’s not just people tackling part-time jobs after the close of regular business hours. It’s more and more common for the nation’s office buildings to moonlight for extra income on an after-hours basis.
With return-to-office mandates helping revive demand for office square footage at the same time retail’s recent 4.1% vacancy rate signals a supply shortage, office building owners savor a rare opportunity. They can ride new revenue streams by leasing space for retail pop-ups, brand-propelled activations and private gatherings. Turning available space over for multiple uses not only brings landlords greater revenue from the same square footage, but generates greater foot traffic, a boon to both landlords and tenants.
Popular choices
Florida’s largest office property owner, CP Group, is among the owner-operators leveraging this concept. At The Center (formerly CNN Center) in Atlanta, branded pop-ups and a proposed entertainment hub heralding the 2026 World Cup are both intended to lure members of the community while also attracting additional corporate tenants. Miami Tower’s rooftop pool and Skydeck terrace high above central Downtown Miami are popular choices for private events. And in Boca Raton, a former IBM research facility turned 1.7-million-square-foot Boca Raton Innovation Campus (BRIC) has seen its sprawling conference and event space become host site for weddings, mar mitzvahs and charity events.
“Our business is evolving to change the traditional office building environment from one that has been cloistered from the broader community to one that has been integrated within it,” says Angelo Bianco, managing partner, CP Group.
“This has had a significant positive impact on our office buildings, increasing rental rates, tenant retention and leasing velocity.”
National real estate owner-developer AmTrust RE now offers several rentable amenities spaces at One East Wacker, its freshly refurbished trophy office tower on the northern border of Chicago’s Loop central business district.
Following its renovation, the tower offers state-of-the-art technology and contemporary interior design attracting private and public events. An event hall, sky lounge with bar and large conference rooms host both corporate and personal events, with booking through platforms like PartySlate. An added inducement to rent space in the 63-year-old, 41-floor marble-clad building is its location near the center of downtown Chicago, steps from the increasingly popular Chicago Riverwalk, and a short stroll from Millennium Park and North Michigan Avenue.
“Opening amenity spaces for non-tenant uses creates a more vibrant workplace environment and can also introduce cost savings opportunities for tenants of the building,” says Jonathan Bennett, president, AmTrust RE.
“The added stream of revenue for property owners can offset costs and allow them to offer tenants access to these spaces at a discounted rate, enabling another means for businesses to take advantage of their office community.”
First “metroburb”
In a class by itself is Holmdel, N.J.’s Bell Works, a masterpiece designed by Eero Saarinen as the Bell Labs campus, which opened the same year One East Wacker did.
The 2-million-square-foot building, dubbed the nation’s first “metroburb,” is now home to businesses, shopping, dining, lodging and the arts.
Among its side hustles is serving as a shooting site for film and TV productions, such as Law & Order: Organized Crime, The Crowded Room, and the extolled Apple TV series Severance, as well as TV commercials.
A second Bell Works, this one originally constructed as the AT&T research facility and now a destination for business and culture, stands in the northwest Chicago suburb of Hoffman Estates, Ill. and is termed Bell Works Chicagoland.
Both the New Jersey and Chicago complexes host community functions and private gatherings. For instance, the ballroom at Bell Works New Jersey can be booked for galas and weddings, and a sprawling rooftop deck provides a scenic milieu for outdoor corporate clambakes and private throngs.
The last few years have seen little more than bad news for the office sector. But the extra hours of work some office structures are logging supplies hope of brighter days ahead.
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