3. Shrink the office space

Hunters Capital’s Malone is offering boutique, Class A office spaces at Seattle’s Broadway Building to attract small-business owners, some of whom are looking for a place to work outside the home. But that’s only part of the story. “Research shows there’s a lot of demand for small offices downtown,” he says. “We’re pulling the small-office people from downtown into an urban village environment where parking is less expensive. ” The Broadway’s office spaces, which range from 591 to 817 sf, share a conference room and kitchen.

In Chicago’s up-and-coming Logan Square neighborhood, 2000 N. Milwaukee occupies a pie-shaped site. The building, designed and co-developed by Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture (HPA), serves as an anchor to a busy, six-corner intersection. Built by Chicago-based Macon Construction, it offers 15 live/work apartments above street-level retail. Occupancy was at 100% until recently, when one of the retail tenants moved out. Alessandro says young singles and couples are renting the live/work units.