207. A Chicago Landlord, Marc Blum, shares how Spaces went bankrupt in his building after 6 months and Adam Showalter helped him survive to tell the story.

THE GUEST ON THIS EPISODE IS Marc Blum, Next Realty’s President, and COO, and Adam Showalter, our co-working partner/leasing agent from Stream Realty/Rapid

Marc Blum redeveloped his 80,000 square foot building for commercial office use. He built out all eight floors for Spaces, an IWG brand of coworking. Spaces filed for bankruptcy less than 6 months after moving into the space (during COVID-19). Marc had a dilemma on his hands. Should he/could he find another tenant? Should he run the flex office model himself? Should he find a partner?

Enter Adam Showalter and the rest is history. They share the story of how they converted the Spaces buildout to their own flexible office offering, gave the building a brand and became a leader in the evolution of the commercial office world.

Marc Blum is Next Realty’s President and COO and Adam Showalter is Managing Partner for Stream Realty.

IN THIS EPISODE, WE DISCUSS:

Marc describes his thought process when he learned the Spaces at 620 N. LaSalle was part of the IWG bankruptcy process. His immediate response to the situation, the solutions he considered and the pros/cons that he weighed.
Marc shares the factors that made him believe that flex was the best use of the space at 620 N. LaSalle.
Marc shares what the product mix looks like in the building between furnished spec suites and coworking and how the coworking is staffed.
Adam describes the Rapid offering and where/how it’s best deployed.
Adam and Marc share what the partnership looks like between Next Realty and Stream’s Rapid product.
Marc shares what Next Realty’s approach to flex/coworking in your portfolio over the next 5-10 years.
While the takeover is still early, Marc and Adam share what they’ve learned so far that you might share with other landlords in a similar situation.

If you’d like to optimize your business processes and marketing to be prepared for re-entry, we can help you with that in our mentorship program. To learn more about our mentor program, book a call with our team.

Resources mentioned in this podcast:

Coworking SEO Action Guide Download

Podcasts episodes with related content:

Michael Abrams on Management Agreements

Jamie Hodari, CEO of Industrious, on Management Agreements