The Native Realty CEO shared his thoughts on what office property managers and landlords should prioritize as tenants begin returning to their offices. Bisnow reporter Patrick Sisson examined the steps currently being taken in a new article.
As Offices Reopen, Cleaning A Building Moves From ‘Hygiene Theater’ To A New Reality
Just a year ago, many of our offices — the ones many companies are clamoring to reopen — were filled not with employees but cleaners clad in hazmat suits that looked straight out of a medical thriller
“As Jaime Sturgis, CEO of Fort Lauderdale-based commercial real estate firm Native Realty said, in unprecedented times, an abundance of caution was a good idea. But going forward, property managers and landlords are focusing on altering sanitation and cleaning protocols and plans to take into account updated Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance, which has decidedly shifted toward a focus on air quality and circulation as opposed to deep surface cleaning, and changing attitudes around the pandemic and a return to work. Sturgis said his company is cleaning more now than it did in 2019, but not as much as it did during the summer of 2020.
Striking the right balance is critical as workers are coaxed back into the office.
“There are two, bifurcated, independent trains of thought right now,” he said. “The vaccinated feel comfortable coming back to work, since physical mandates and cultural perceptions have changed. The other group is still very much concerned and going to continue to work from home until we’re totally through this thing.”