Tom’s Recommended Reading for the Week

Eventful week in Chicago as summer approaches. Check out our top Chicago commercial real estate articles before heading into the weekend!

1. 14 Ways the Workplace is Evolving  – Mobility versus routine. Distraction versus focus. Command-and-control management versus employee choice. As corporate cultural battles play out, workplaces have become the battleground, with outcomes increasingly dependent on worker engagement, health, well-being and a sense of belonging or purpose. The following are 14 workplace trends reshaping corporate cultures in 2014 and beyond… Globe St.
   
2. How Your Office Is Harming Your Health  – Many of us spend a large chunk of our waking lives at work, but rarely do we give much thought to how our on-the-clock environment might be affecting how we feel around the clock. If the recent literature has anything to say about it, working in offices could be making us feel pretty crappy. Open office plans (and cubicles, to a certain extent) may be the worst offenders when it comes to harming employee wellness and productivity, and some studies on the fallbacks of the popular design have called the entire structure of American work life into question… Huffington Post
   
3. More Metrics Needed for Medical Office Buildings Sector – Medical office buildings (MOBs) are starting to overtake hospitals as the preferred new property type for health care systems, but real estate market statistics for MOBs are still lumped into the broader health care category, making data and trends hard to obtain for newcomer investors. The traditional MOB is now evolving into more of a full-service, ambulatory care model that is causing hospitals to distribute resources differently and re-examine expenditures, especially when it comes to real estate decisions. Two recent reports have detailed the need for hospitals and health care systems to be more aware of modern customer needs for local comprehensive care facilities… NREI
   
4. Office Recovery Hits Halfway Point as Demand for Space Spreads Across More U.S. Markets  –The U.S. office recovery continued to hum quietly along in the first quarter, absent any dramatic surges or spikes. As a result of the measured pace of increasing tenant demand, the national office vacancy rate remained unchanged from the previous quarter at 11.9%, according to CoStar’s First Quarter 2014 Office Review and Outlook. Overall net absorption of U.S. office space is running ahead of last year’s pace with 74 million square feet absorbed over the last 12 months, compared with 61 million square feet during the previous year period through first-quarter 2013… CoStar
   
5. John Buck moves in on struggling Loop office tower – John Buck Co., best known for developing trophy office towers on Wacker Drive, is about to take control of a vintage Loop building that’s been reeling since the city of Chicago vacated nearly a third of it last year. Chicago-based Buck is in advanced talks to assume ownership of the Class B structure at 33 N. LaSalle St. for less than the remaining debt on the 38-story art deco tower, according to people familiar with the transaction. The building’s owners, Chicago-based Golub & Co. and German shipping and real estate firm Norddeutsche Vermogen, owed nearly $42.5 million when they negotiated a loan modification in December 2012 with New York-based AXA Equitable Life Insurance Co., according to Cook County records… Crain’s Chicago