This year we had a great Tenant Appreciation Event at Six Forks Place and 100 E & 3008 Anderson Drive!

At Six Forks Place, HNTB won both Tenant's Choice & Best Overall by decorating their pumpkin as a HNTB-themed Garfield! Meanwhile, our very own Mary Jo decorated a spooky eyeball pumpkin.

In the classic words of Dolly, "Workin' 9 to 5"!

Who's ready for a movie? Here, have some popcorn and a Coke!

Pictured above, Vee Vee Vick continues her winning streak by earning Tenant's Choice for Capital Investment Companies with her movie-themed pumpkin!

This year's honorable mentions at 100 E. Six Forks & 3008 Anderson include these creative entries pictured above.

These are just a few photos of our Tenants enjoying the food and company at our 100 E. Six Forks & 3008 Anderson Tenant Appreciation Luncheon.
Pictured are employees from Capital Investment Companies, Cardinal Civil Contracting, Patriot Transportation & Engineering, and The Sorin Group enjoying the  beautiful day.​

We look forward to continuing the Tenant Appreciation Luncheon tradition for years to come and are excited for what 2022 holds!
A BIG thank you to our sponsor and landlord, Mr. Douglas M. Hobbs.

One of our Tenants, The Sorin Group, at 3008 Anderson Dr. had the very creative idea to turn their Pumpkin Decorating into a family feud competition between themselves and Hobbs! Round of applause for the creativity and the likeness of our employees!

Group photo of the "family feud" contestants. 

Six Forks Place Tenant Appreciation Pumpkin Decorating Winner. See Cowboy Pumpkin above left and a group photo of our winners at DCDEE above on the right. 

Look at the porcupine above from our Tenant at 100 E Six Forks. This was the tenant choice winner for the 100 E Six Forks/3008 Anderson Drive Tenant Appreciation Lunch. A big shout out to Capital Investment for their winning design. 

Pictured above is our 100 E Six Forks/3008 Anderson Tenant Appreciation Lunch Pumpkin Decorating Winner, Vee Vee Vick, with our wonderful Landlord and Sponsor of the event Mr. Douglas Hobbs.

Above are just a few photos of our Tenants enjoying the food and company at our Six Forks Place TAL rain location. On the bottom left you can see our very own Greg Hobbs and James Byrd from HNTB.

If you’ve perused the listings at Hobbs Properties then you’ve probably noticed that for every office space we offer, we include a little section labeled “Ideal For.” This section lists the number of employees that we believe would fit comfortably in the office space.

In the example below, we believe that Suite 150 at 100 East at Anderson Plaza would be ideal for a startup or small business with 10 - 20 employees:

Recently, we’ve received several questions regarding how we calculate and arrive at the range for each space.

Now, most companies like to hide their secrets, but here at Hobbs Properties we believe in trust and transparency. So, we’ve decided to reveal how we get that magic number so that you can estimate your own office space needs.

**Disclaimer**
The formula below is not guaranteed to produce a perfect result. As all businesses are unique, their space requirements will differ. It would be impossible to develop a formula that would spit out an exact number for every business. The rule of thumb and formula provided below gives a base range that you can use to estimate your space requirements.

If you’re hoping to find the exact space size for your needs, please get in contact with us today.

All right, now that that’s out of the way, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty.

At Hobbs Properties, we use the following rule of thumb:

1 employee for every 125 – 200 sq. ft.

Please keep in mind that this is not a hard and fast rule. The number of employees you can fit in a given office space depends on many factors, including the number of offices within a given space and the number of employees per office.

Now that you know the general rule of thumb, calculating your estimated office space requirements is simple, just multiply the number of employees you have by the low and high end of the range provided above.

That being said, the formula would look like this:

Office Space Requirements Estimate (Low End of the Range) = Number of Employees x 125

Office Space Requirements Estimate (High End of the Range) = Number of Employees x 200

So, using the formula above, if your business has 25 employees, your estimated office space range would be 3,125 sq. ft. to 5,000 sq. ft.

Using the rule of thumb and formula discussed in the post can help you establish an estimate of your office space requirements. However, there are many factors that go into finding the ideal office space for your business. So, if you’re looking for a new office space, we recommend you work with a broker, like us!

- Kevin Leonard
Executive Director of the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC), describing the aftermath of the fire that destroyed the NCACC offices.

At approximately 10:00 PM on Thursday, March 16, 2017, a fire broke out at the construction site of an apartment building in Raleigh.

By the end of the night, it would devour the entire 241-unit project and spread to 10 nearby buildings.

When the blaze was extinguished and the smoke disappeared, it would be remembered in the record books as the largest fire to scourge Raleigh in over 90 years.

After intense investigation, the cause of the fire was ruled inconclusive.

In the wake of destruction, businesses, families, and other entities of all shapes and sizes were left without a place to call home. Among them was the NCACC, an organization that advocates for the well-being of North Carolina’s 100 counties.

When NCACC employees left work to head home on March 16th, their offices were located in the Albert Coates Local Government Center and 15-story Quorum Center.

“It was a normal night,” Kevin recalled, “but it was unusually cold.”

When they returned the next day, their office space was hardly recognizable. Windows were shattered, office supplies were melted, and what wasn’t ruined by the ferocity of the blaze was damaged by smoke and water.

They knew they wouldn’t be going back anytime soon.

On Friday, March 24, 2017, the paperwork was signed and the NCACC began the process of moving into their new home.

“It took one week,” Kevin recounted, which is important because, “For some people it’s an office, for others it’s life.”

The NCACC is now fully operational, advocating on behalf of North Carolina’s 580+ county commissioners from the 3rd floor of Six Forks Place III.

​To view our availabilities at Six Forks Place III, click here.

Last week was our annual Tenant Appreciation Lunch. We had an excellent turnout and a wonderful time! We always appreciate any opportunity we can get to talk face-to-face with our tenants.

If you attended, we hope you had as fun a time as we did. We hope to see you all again next year!

Check out some of the pictures we took in the slideshow below:

Mark your calendars! On Thursday, November 9th, NCACC and the American Red Cross will be hosting a blood drive at Six Forks Place III. The blood drive will begin at 10:00 AM and end at 3:30 PM. To schedule your appointment for the blood drive, please click here.

It’s no secret that Raleigh, NC is becoming a globally recognized hub of innovation. In 2015, Entrepreneur ranked Raleigh number 8 on its list of 25 Cities Worth Moving to If You Want to Launch a Business—ahead of the well-known startup pantheons of New York City and San Francisco.

As a bastion of education and progress, it’s no surprise that Raleigh is home to over 400 engineering firms. With new firms starting up and moving in every day, this number is only expected to increase.

Given the presence and incredible growth of the engineering industry in Raleigh we couldn’t just sit back and let new engineering firms wander aimlessly looking for an office space. So, we partnered with HNTB’s Associate Vice President, Chuck Johnson, to provide new engineering firms with practical advice for finding the perfect office space.

Below are the 4 tips you can use to find an office space that will allow your engineering firm to thrive and grow:

• Find a landlord who understands your business.
  
  When searching for an office space for your engineering firm, finding a landlord who truly understands your business is key to finding a proper office space.
  
  As Chuck suggests:
  
  Having a local landlord who understands our business and is vested in our success is important to HNTB. [O]ur business and space needs can be a challenge to predict.
  
  Hint: Look for landlords who already work with engineering clients as they will have experience finding and fitting offices for companies like yours.
  
  
• Don’t forget about location.
  
  You’ve probably heard the phrase, “The 3 most important factors of real estate are location, location, location.” Though this saying is often associated with residential real estate, it holds true for commercial real estate as well.
  
  According to Chuck:
  
  The location of the office is also very important to HNTB.  We conducted a study and found that the centroid of all of our employees’ residences was about half a mile from the office, which is extremely close given the size of our municipal area.
  
  [I]t is important to have easy access to major commuting routes, lunch restaurants within walking distance, and nearby retail stores and services. Those amenities help simplify the lives of our employees, and serve to retain our quality employees. Having nearby quality hotels and restaurants are [also] important for business reasons.
  
  Hint: When selecting your office space, remember to keep the relative location of your customers in mind. Moving your office to a new city 50 miles away from your customer base isn’t a smart idea. Even a move of 10-15 miles can cause certain customers to turn away in search of someone closer.
  
  
• Think about the future.
  
  Chances are, you need a new office space because you’ve outgrown your old one. Though it’s impossible to accurately predict the future, you should try to look for office space that can support your growth. Almost nothing is as annoying to your employees and customers as you moving your office every 2-3 years because you failed to properly plan for your growth.
  
  As Chuck puts it:
  
  No one has a crystal ball, but you should reference your business plan and think about what you expect to be and how you plan to operate in the future. Knowing that, I recommend developing space that is flexible, functional, and reasonably appointed.
  
  Also, plan to make use of technology in the office. Technology can save time and improve efficiency. Therefore, as the cost of technology drops and the cost of labor increases—leverage technology to your benefit.
  
  Hint: Selecting a space that can meet your future needs is tough. Don’t approach it alone. As Chuck suggests, “When planning your space, you should listen to the professionals such as your designer and landlord—they do that all the time and you probably don’t!”
  
  
• Look for a space that will attract and retain talent.
  
  The last thing you want is for potential or current employees to turn away from your company because your office space isn’t properly maintained or designed. Although office space may seem like something that has no bearing on attracting or retaining talent, it actually plays a pretty big role.
  
  As Chuck explains:
  
  We have hired over 20 people in our Raleigh office this year, and our office has been a factor in attracting talent. This includes the quality of our space as well as the location, local amenities, and available parking. We renovated and reconfigured our space recently and were a little surprised to find that it impacted recruiting and client impressions as much as it did. People visit our office and want to work here.
  
  Hint: Look at the companies similar to yours who are attracting top talent. What does their office space look like? How does it feel? What vibe does it give off? Consider this when performing your search.

Conclusion:

Finding the perfect office space for your engineering firm can be a daunting process. However, by utilizing the 4 tips mentioned above, you should be able to cut a lot of headache and hassle out of your search process.

About HNTB

HNTB Corporation is an employee-owned infrastructure solutions firm serving public and private owners and contractors. With more than a century of service, HNTB understands the life cycle of infrastructure and addresses clients’ most complex technical, financial and operational challenges. Professionals deliver a full range of infrastructure-related services, including award-winning planning, design, program and construction management.

Learn more at: www.HNTB.com.

When we acquired The Grove in 2015, we were excited to begin realizing the potential of such a strong and active location. After all, one of the most important aspects of our business is creating and maintaining spaces that attract and retain dynamic clients. So, we began transforming The Grove from a vintage 70s office complex into a space suited to the needs of 21st century companies.

One of the first significant steps that we took during this transformation was renovating The Grove’s courtyard between The Tower and the Woodoak Building.

This space is a cornerstone of The Grove complex, covering nearly 3,600 square feet and providing much needed connectivity within the south campus. Moving away from its rigid, industrial park feel, we redesigned the courtyard into a communal area where tenants can step away from the rush of the office and meet over coffee or lunch in a relaxed, lush and inviting environment.

Hobbs Properties is excited to introduce this new space to our tenants and future clients.  We anticipate completing this renovation by October 31st.

Hobbs Properties is proud to announce that Blue Sky Industries has moved into Woodoak at The Grove!

Blue Sky Industries is a world-class distributor of aerospace hardware. With its new sales office, Blue Sky will be perfectly situated to support aviation customers throughout North Carolina and surrounding states. Since the days of the Wright Brothers, North Carolina has had a strong tradition in aviation, and has recently seen a major boom in aerospace manufacturing, maintenance, repair, and overhaul. Blue Sky Industries believes in working close to its customers, so the new Raleigh sales office is a key step for the future.

This announcement originally appeared in the Summer 2015 Newsletter.

This April, Hobbs Properties assumed management and leasing of a three building office campus known as The Grove. The Grove is built on historic property known for two things: proximity to downtown and oak trees, for which Raleigh, as the City of Oaks, is famous. This site is also unique due to its 200+ year legacy for its close proximity to the Capital and the main thoroughfare for trade and travel in and out of Raleigh.

Today, that historic thoroughfare is known as Wake Forest Road, and The Grove continues to live up to its location’s legacy through its adjacency to both Wake Forest Road and the Beltline. This high trafficked area has hotels, banks, restaurants, and Duke Raleigh Hospital all within walking distance, while North Hills, Midtown, the Six Forks Corridor, and Downtown are just a short drive away. 
Completed in the mid-1970’s, The Grove is named for its large grove of oaks, each tree greeting you as you drive through campus on Navaho Drive. The beautiful oak trees have the added bonus of providing shade to cool you down in this summer heat wave.
​
This office location is a prime example of why national and international businesses are increasingly drawn to Raleigh for their new home. Hobbs Properties has already begun renovations to update the buildings’ interiors. Come visit our on-site management office to see why this location endures such timeless success.

This announcement originally appeared in the Summer 2015 newsletter.