Executive suites increase in popularity, as business shy away from committing to large office spaces

During the recession, companies scaled back office spaces in major cities across the nation. But now, as companies have finally begun to expand again, executive suites are picking up the slack, satisfying demand for additional office space without the hefty financial commitment, the Palm Beach Post reported.

The days of renting big offices spaces are gone, according to Boca Raton-area executive suite landlord Tina Bivona.

“The executive suites are catering not only to the small business owner but to mid and even large-sized companies,” she told the Post.

Bivona is seeing good demand at her own executive suite centers, of which she has two. She opened one of them on Yamato Road in Boca Raton in 2008 in the midst of the economic downturn, and grew it from 5,000 square feet to 17,000 square feet in nearly five years. The office is now 99 percent leased, she told the Post.

She has another executive suite center at the Bank of America office building on West Palmetto Park Road, which opened recently. The center is nearly 33 percent leased and has 50 office suites in 15,000 square feet.

Depending on the size, rents in her Yamato Road location run from $375 monthly to $1,000. And in the new location, they run $450 to $1,700. There are also options for virtual offices — spaces where professionals can meet their clients and get mail, but not work there.

This virtual office trend has found its way to the real estate world, where New York firms have shed offices to reduce their overhead and retain agents with higher commissions, as The Real Deal reported. [Palm Beach Post] —Zachary Kussin