3 ms·

None. But that's orthogonal to your GP's point - "They should have done their homework." This was not a case of missing "homework". This was literally a once-in

None. But that's orthogonal to your GP's point - "They should have done their homework." This was not a case of missing "homework". This was literally a once-in-a-century event no one plans for.

cudgy 3y ago
There are many once-in-a-century possibilities like flooding, fires, terrorism, pandemics, structural failures, wars, ecological disasters, eminent domain, etc. Add them all up and you actually have a many-in-a-century event scenario. Companies that are already setup for remote work will be at an advantage, by not having a large percentage of their resources at a single or several large locations, and able to continue operations with little or no disruption. In short, the remote model is decentralized and therefore more resilient and less risky.
- mulmen 3y ago
  Sure but what you do about these events is very different. Eminent domain and business districts are almost synonyms and much different than a war or terrorism. How do you price all of this into your real estate buying decisions? I don't dispute the benefits of remote work but can we at least admit that the world changed drastically and unpredictably in the last few years?
  - cudgy 3y ago
    The impact is the same regardless of event. A centralized location being affected by any of these events is going to impact business negatively to a much greater degree than a company whose workers are spread out in different locations. As for real estate buying decisions, it depends on the industry of course. So, given a standard tech business, you buy what you need for positions that cannot be performed remotely and estimated space for those workers that desire to work at that location hopefully in a location close to where these workers live (which is likely not in a typical downtown city location). Basically, smaller satellite offices near where the people that have to go to a physical location live.
    - mulmen 3y ago
      > The impact is the same regardless of event. It isn’t though. Eminent domain increases property values. Pandemics and terrorism decrease it. > So, given a standard tech business, you buy what you need for positions that cannot be performed remotely and estimated space for those workers that desire to work at that location hopefully in a location close to where these workers live (which is likely not in a typical downtown city location). This is divorced from the reality I live in. My city developed a business district complete with housing and entertainment near downtown. That area is dead now and the city is understandably concerned. It wasn’t a bad idea before but now it hasn’t worked out. But I can’t blame the businesses who invested. They seem to have made all the right decisions. It wasn’t clearly a mistake pre-pandemic. In fact it was all very progressive and forward-looking.

None. But that's orthogonal to your GP's point - "They should have done their homework." This was not a case of missing "homework". This was literally a once-in-a-century event no one plans for.

cudgy 3y ago

There are many once-in-a-century possibilities like flooding, fires, terrorism, pandemics, structural failures, wars, ecological disasters, eminent domain, etc. Add them all up and you actually have a many-in-a-century event scenario. Companies that are already setup for remote work will be at an advantage, by not having a large percentage of their resources at a single or several large locations, and able to continue operations with little or no disruption. In short, the remote model is decentralized and therefore more resilient and less risky.

mulmen 3y ago
Sure but what you do about these events is very different. Eminent domain and business districts are almost synonyms and much different than a war or terrorism. How do you price all of this into your real estate buying decisions? I don't dispute the benefits of remote work but can we at least admit that the world changed drastically and unpredictably in the last few years?
- cudgy 3y ago
  The impact is the same regardless of event. A centralized location being affected by any of these events is going to impact business negatively to a much greater degree than a company whose workers are spread out in different locations. As for real estate buying decisions, it depends on the industry of course. So, given a standard tech business, you buy what you need for positions that cannot be performed remotely and estimated space for those workers that desire to work at that location hopefully in a location close to where these workers live (which is likely not in a typical downtown city location). Basically, smaller satellite offices near where the people that have to go to a physical location live.
  - mulmen 3y ago
    > The impact is the same regardless of event. It isn’t though. Eminent domain increases property values. Pandemics and terrorism decrease it. > So, given a standard tech business, you buy what you need for positions that cannot be performed remotely and estimated space for those workers that desire to work at that location hopefully in a location close to where these workers live (which is likely not in a typical downtown city location). This is divorced from the reality I live in. My city developed a business district complete with housing and entertainment near downtown. That area is dead now and the city is understandably concerned. It wasn’t a bad idea before but now it hasn’t worked out. But I can’t blame the businesses who invested. They seem to have made all the right decisions. It wasn’t clearly a mistake pre-pandemic. In fact it was all very progressive and forward-looking.