Office Space News
BusinessWorks: Suburban Office Space at Metro Prices
Published June 25th, 2009 by Jennifer LeClaire
Customization. It’s a new buzzword I’m seeing a lot of lately in the executive office suites world. One of the most recent examples of serviced office companies to tout “customized office space” is BusinessWorks Office Suites.
BusinessWorks Office Suites caters to entrepreneurs and small businesses that need office space and business services on demand. (By the way on-demand is another serviced office industry buzzword that’s emerging as popular in a high-tech society.) BusinessWorks says it offers customized office and business service programs at a fraction of the cost of long-term office space. I am not so sure about that.
BusinessWorks Office Suites offers single and multi-office suites in the prestigious East Piedmont and Sandy Plains Road area near Marietta, Ga. With leases available on a six- to 12-month basis. Marietta is about 20 miles from Atlanta, convenient for entrepreneurs who need an office outside the home but don’t want to pay big city prices, or at least that’s what you’d think.
Low-rise Building, High-Rise Costs
You won’t get into a high-rise, or even a mid-rise building with BusinessWorks Office Suites, though. The facilities look more like a brick home than an office building. Then again, that’s a common façade in the South. The interiors are professional, but not luxurious. The board room look spacious, but not state-of-the-art.
I don’t doubt that these are, as the company says, the highest-quality, well-maintained office buildings in the local neighborhood. But if you are from a big city you won’t be impressed. There’s one or more windows in each office, but not much to look at outside. One plus: this serviced office company gives you 24 hour access, seven days a week. But that’s not a competitive differentiator by a long shot.
On the services front, BusinessWorks Office Suites offers a telephones system with voice mail, high speed Internet service/VPN-Remote Access, a receptionist, unlimited incoming messages, a security system, mail handling, a bistro kitchen with free coffee and tea, and janitorial services. Again, nothing custom there.
What shocked me – and what would completely deter me from renting office space there – is the prices. The costs range from about $1,000 to about $1,200 a month. I can’t see how they justify those prices in a suburb. They must be doing some pretty fancy customization to charge those prices. But the photos on the Web site don’t look worthy of those rates, either.
You can go into Atlanta and get an office at that rate with a better view, a nicer building, more amenities, etc. Maybe the prices listed on their Web site were a misprint, or they just aren’t communicating the value proposition. I look at serviced office industry Web sites every day… what am I missing?
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Melanie Jones June 25th, 2009 at 10:21 am
Hmm. Yeah, I’ve seen executive office suites going for $450 in some cities. I am not sure in this case you ‘get what you pay for.’ I know you can definitely shell out that kind of money for serviced office space in cities like Atlanta but this little suburb… I’m not sure how they can charge those rates, either.
Marcus Hester June 25th, 2009 at 10:25 am
I live in a suburb of a big city and there’s office spaces for rent — furnished, mind you, for as little as $300. Maybe they are not as big. Maybe they are not as pretty. But in this economy I can’t see why anyone would pay so much for office space that’s not in a prime location. Marietta may be close to Atlanta, but it’s not Atlanta. I wonder what their competitors are charging.
Bill Brookshire June 25th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
This could be a supply and demand issue. If these really are the highest class of the bunch in terms of office space in Marietta, then that may justify the cost. I don’t think this is the only serviced office option, though. It would be interesting to see what the competitors charge. It does seem a bit pricey based on the location, services and photos I saw.
Elizabeth Sanchez June 25th, 2009 at 1:35 pm
I don’t see anything particularly compelling about this serviced office outfit. I just looked in the abetteroffice.com executive office suites directory and the photos of the competing serviced offices blew me away — at least the outside. I can’t see why anyone would rent office space at BusinessWorks when they could be located in any one of three other really nice looking, modern buildings.
Melanie Jones June 25th, 2009 at 1:45 pm
If this company’s web site is any indication, these serviced office facilities are outdated. Even looking at the pictures of the executive office suites, this is definitely not a modern, high-class environment. I wouldn’t choose to do business there for that price. It looks like the furniture section at Office Depot. Sorry, don’t mean to be so brutal. But that’s a high price to pay for what they seem to offer. Maybe there’s some catch we’re not catching.