Author: Jim Schnur

Jim Schnur is the President and Designated Managing Broker of Integrated Real Estate Solutions, Inc. Jim started the firm in 2003 after almost 20 years negotiating and overseeing real estate transactions at Hewlett Packard Co. and Agilent Technologies, Inc.

Permanent Changes to Offices in a Post-COVID World

By James A. Schnur, CCIM
President and Designated Managing Broker
Integrated Real Estate Solutions
LinkedIn

With social distancing restrictions and mask mandates lifting across the country, companies are turning their sights on ways to bring their employees back together in a physical space. Remote work has increased substantially, and with a large portion of workers finding similar or greater success working from home — and with lingering fears from COVID-19 still casting a shadow over the idea of interacting in public places — employers are quickly finding that they need to make serious changes to their offices if they want their employees to return to the physical office space.  Continue reading “Permanent Changes to Offices in a Post-COVID World”

Considering Subleasing Space?

By James A. Schnur, CCIM
President and Designated Managing Broker
Integrated Real Estate Solutions
LinkedIn

After a year of adapting working styles and conditions to accommodate the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses continue to search for ways to offset the burden created by the coronavirus. One of the most difficult aspects for many companies to deal with is the question of what to do with their current office space. Due to stay-at-home and social distancing guidelines, many office spaces have continued to fall short of their previous occupancy — if employees have returned to working in-person at all — leading business owners to search for alternate solutions for their mostly empty spaces. More than ever, this has led to businesses exploring the option of subleasing their office spaces. Continue reading “Considering Subleasing Space?”

Industrial Oversight: Tips for Touring a Warehouse Space

By James A. Schnur, CCIM
President and Designated Managing Broker
Integrated Real Estate Solutions

To some, it may just be another large building, but to those with specific business needs, a warehouse space means one thing: potential. Whether it is the potential to provide faster distribution, the potential to the manufacturer at a greater scale, or the potential to take on new opportunities, a warehouse can provide exactly what a business is looking for to grow and expand. And because it can represent so much, the need to find the exact right warehouse space becomes even more important.  Continue reading “Industrial Oversight: Tips for Touring a Warehouse Space”

The Right Price: The Other Costs in Commercial Lease Terms Tenants Should Keep in Mind

By James A. Schnur, CCIM
President and Designated Managing Broker
Integrated Real Estate Solutions

Once the perfect relocation spot is scouted and secured, and the paperwork is drawn up and presented, there is a strong temptation to rush through lease clauses and sign off without scrutiny to just tie a bow on the deal and be done with it. But rushing into signing a commercial lease without giving the terms a thorough read can have detrimental consequences, particularly financially.  Having a tenant representation broker as well as a competent real estate attorney provide their services in looking over a lease before it’s signed is critical in this respect. By doing the due diligence and bringing in expert help, commercial renters and buyers are able to address many easily overlooked lease terms — such as the following — and avoid any costly oversights in the process.  Continue reading “The Right Price: The Other Costs in Commercial Lease Terms Tenants Should Keep in Mind”

The Remote Ripple Effect: COVID-19 is Re-Shaping Future Office Requirements

By James A. Schnur, CCIM
President and Designated Managing Broker
Integrated Real Estate Solutions

The return to in-person office working has been slow and cautious, and for good reason. COVID-19 unapologetically upended the standard of “business as usual”, and has made many office workers gun-shy about setting foot in a physical space within arms-reach of co-workers once again. Business-owners have been diligent in taking employee concerns into account when considering how best to approach getting workers back into a central office space, and the solutions they have come up with have been reshaping what features will become popular in future offices in general.  Continue reading “The Remote Ripple Effect: COVID-19 is Re-Shaping Future Office Requirements”

How E-Commerce in the Time of COVID-19 is Driving Change in Warehouse Demand

By James A. Schnur, CCIM
President and Designated Managing Broker
Integrated Real Estate Solutions

If there is a single piece of consistency with the COVID-19 novel coronavirus, it is that it is causing disruption across industries. Forcing countless individuals to comply with stay-at-home orders on top of factors limiting in-store shopping, COVID-19 created the perfect conditions to drive consumers toward e-commerce solutions. Almost overnight, online outlets became the primary source of shopping for essential goods, and in the U.S., the amount of essential goods being purchased has been rapidly ballooning. By the numbers, online sales increased 40% from May 26th–June 1st, compared to the number of overall online sales between Feb. 24th–March 1st, according to Signifyd, Inc.  Continue reading “How E-Commerce in the Time of COVID-19 is Driving Change in Warehouse Demand”

Machine Learning: The Ways Manufacturing Automation Will Continue to Reshape Warehouse Spaces

By James A. Schnur, CCIM
President and Designated Managing Broker
Integrated Real Estate Solutions

The shockwaves of change that e-commerce has unleashed continue to ripple outward. As online buying is further ingrained into the daily life of consumers, the fundamental expectations of what it means to buy a product continue to change — consumers continue to expect products to be delivered faster, and cheaper than ever before. Accommodations for this monumental shift in buying attitude affects how companies meet the expectations of their customers, primarily through adjustments to major portions of company warehouses and distribution centers to be specifically tailored for automated solutions. Continue reading “Machine Learning: The Ways Manufacturing Automation Will Continue to Reshape Warehouse Spaces”

Keeping An Eye Out: What To Look For While Touring Commercial Spaces

By James A. Schnur, CCIM
President and Designated Managing Broker
Integrated Real Estate Solutions

During the buying, leasing, or relocation process, touring the prospective locations is one of the most thrilling times. Actually being within the space, walking around, taking in the possibility and potential, is both exciting and overwhelming. It’s one of those times when it makes the entire process feel real, and gives it actual weight, which is why it can also be easy to be so caught up in the tour that one forgets or overlooks several key opportunities. Taking some time, and knowing what to look for, before setting out on the tour can help minimize distractions and keep the focus on securing the best space possible for future business growth. Before setting foot inside a potential space, keep these tips in mind to prepare and to take full advantage of the office space tour. Continue reading “Keeping An Eye Out: What To Look For While Touring Commercial Spaces”

Repurposing with Purpose: Advantages in the Redevelopment of Older Buildings for New Uses

By James A. Schnur, CCIM
President and Designated Managing Broker
Integrated Real Estate Solutions

Driven by a shift in the demographics dominating today’s workforce — from older generations looking to capitalize on their disposable income as they transition into retirement to millennials continuing to occupy greater space within the working world — businesses have adapted by relocating into urban areas to better target the rising population of workers and consumers shunning suburban lifestyles for city-living. With the increased interest in urban land and business space comes a spike in prices for newer, modern real-estate developments, which in turn can be cost-prohibitive for some business owners looking to capitalize by making the move into a city. Fortunately, alternatives exist to counter-balance these obstacles, in the form of “adaptive reuse” properties — i.e. the redevelopment of existing, older commercial properties within the city for modern business uses, drawing from the established architectural foundation of the urban centers. Continue reading “Repurposing with Purpose: Advantages in the Redevelopment of Older Buildings for New Uses”

Distributing More From Less: How Mini-Distribution Centers can Revolutionize Existing Brick-and-Mortar Facilities

By James A. Schnur, CCIM
President and Designated Managing Broker
Integrated Real Estate Solutions

Adapting to the evolving consumer demands presented through the adoption and refinement of the e-commerce experience has been a perilous journey for many retailers. Near the beginning of the online shopping revolution, the established model for fulfillment revolved around stand-alone distribution hubs operating regionally, but as the percentage of online shopping sharply ascended, customer demand shifted toward procuring items at the lowest possible shipping costs, delivered in the least amount of time, making the old guard model unsustainable by all but the very largest of retailers, as the overhead price for large warehouse space on top of demanding material handling considerations was too much for mid- to small-sized retailers to shoulder. As such, survival within this new e-commerce retail landscape means finding more creative logistic solutions to maintain competitive pricing and shipping deadlines to, in turn, retain customer business and bolster brand loyalty against larger competitors. Continue reading “Distributing More From Less: How Mini-Distribution Centers can Revolutionize Existing Brick-and-Mortar Facilities”