#DisruptCRE and the Future of Commercial Real Estate

Boston is booming. That's no secret. Everywhere you look, it seems, a building is going up and new businesses are moving in. For some national perspective, check out the Boston Globe's recent piece on our 'commercial comeback.'

The people leading the charge locally gathered at District Hall last week to discuss the future of commercial real estate in our city and beyond. Our President, John Stephans (you can now follow him on Twitter) joined Stas Gayshan and Michael Gresty for the panel Rethinking Space, moderated by Phil Hammond. We were there to visually capture it all with our partners in scribe, Collective Next.

#DisruptCRE #Boston illustrated by the talented @gracevanthof @collectivenext. Thank you @IdeaPaint! Speechless… pic.twitter.com/1CX3UAZkzL

— DisruptCRE (@DisruptCRE) October 18, 2014

One recurring theme was how technology will continue to play a role in making CRE more efficient.

"Real estate is static. Businesses are dynamic." – @anewmann on why changes in tech are making CRE more efficient. #DisruptCRE

— IdeaPaint (@IdeaPaint) October 16, 2014

Even so, the importance of people to people communication will remain paramount.

.@efinegold21: "Human interaction is what enables creativity, collaboration, innovation. We'll always need it." #DisruptCRE — IdeaPaint (@IdeaPaint) October 16, 2014

Our favorite quote from John touched upon how important custom is to high performing spaces:

"One size does not fit all." – @johnstephans on designing modern workspaces. Consider We vs Me space. #DisruptCRE — IdeaPaint (@IdeaPaint) October 16, 2014

This sentiment was echoed by Stas Gayshan, founder of the CIC, who commented that the job of the facilities and building managers should be, before anything else, to listen:

.@demintel: More people in CRE need to ask, "What are we doing to serve the people?" #DisruptCRE

— IdeaPaint (@IdeaPaint) October 16, 2014

Take a look at a close-up of Grace Van't Hof's illustrations for some more of the conversation details.

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Regram from @renofour, who synthesized 3.5 hours of #DisruptCRE. More pix coming soon! View on Instagram

No matter what industry you're trying to improve, purpose is key. We leave you with Brandon Weber's sound byte as some closing food for thought.

Idea from #DisruptCRE that resonated with us: @BrandonGWeber on need for purpose-built platforms. Evergreen and relevant for all industries. — IdeaPaint (@IdeaPaint) October 16, 2014

Soon, we'll be heading to the West Coast with IDEO to attend the 3% Conference. Stay tuned for our Twitter timeline!