Daily Herald opinion: More innovative ideas to solve the problem of empty office space

This editorial is a consensus opinion of the Daily Herald Editorial Board.

Wouldn't it be great if your workplace had a spa?

Or, what if your workplace became a spa?

It happened in Northern Virginia, according to The Washington Post. A three-story building that housed U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission workers has become the still-three-story Balian Spring spa. And it happened because those SEC workers ... are gone, working at home or elsewhere.

The country's businesses and even government agencies continue to struggle with post-pandemic workplaces, with no real agreement yet on whether remote working is a good thing or bad, or if a mix of working at home and the office - what appears to be workers' preference - is best. Caught in the middle of the debate are businesses with big office complexes or landlords with still a lot of empty space.

The spa idea is an example of an alternative that real estate brokers and local officials are exploring: to quote the Post, "Why not turn an empty office into, well, basically anything else?"

It's happening in the Chicago area, too. The Post cites a real estate analytics firm's report about the nonprofit Farm Zero's effort to turn at least some of a 22-story Chicago office tower across from City Hall into a vertical farm growing tomatoes and herbs. CoStar reported that the Burnham Center could become the first in a series of Farm Zero spaces in Chicago's Loop. In addition to desks, chairs and conference rooms, buildings could also house grow lights and racks of crops.

We're seeing a lot office space in the suburbs being redeveloped into big data centers, or even apartments. Other buildings or campuses are becoming co-working spaces, serving the increasingly nomadic workforce. That includes Bell Works Chicagoland, the giant former AT&T campus in Hoffman Estates. But Bell Works is becoming much more than a collection of offices. Not only are many different kinds of companies leasing space there, but Swing Loose Indoor Golf is expected to debut in the fall. Fairgrounds World's Fair cafe and Church Street Brewing opened in the complex this summer. (Our photographers just gathered for a meeting at the cafe.)

Other efforts are being made to keep office buildings full. The owner of the Schaumburg Corporate Center just south of Woodfield Mall added a dog park (outside) for all the workers there to use.

Meanwhile, in yet another case of creative redevelopment, there's a case in Palatine where one complex that's never been an office building is bringing in office workers, too, as part of its upgrade. The Midtown Athletic Club has added co-working space. The fitness center has a variety of amenities - including, wouldn't you know, a spa. So, some people's workplace indeed can have one.

The office real estate market's troubles are not all solved yet, but plenty of innovative examples in our area and beyond show hopeful options to consider.