Like retail, offices are expected to execute a phased-stylereopening. While strategies for re-opening office spaces andinviting employees to return to work have focused on businessowners and office occupiers, property owners and landlords willcertainly play an important role. According a recent workplacereport from CBRE that surveyed business owners'plans to re-open, both landlords and tenants will need tocollaborate on solutions to create safe spaces for workers.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has introduced challenges that requiretimely, open and collaborative solutions for building owners andtheir tenants," Karen Ellzey, executive managingdirector of CBRE's reopening the world's workplaces taskforce,tells GlobeSt.com. "Both parties are responsible for monitoring andimplementing the latest safety guidance and orders from relevantauthorities, establishing plans that account for them,communicating those plans to their constituencies, and enforcingany policies put in place."

Building owners also need vital information from tenants,including when and how employees are returning to work and how manyemployees are returning in each group. "The top concerns alsoinclude how to safely manage in the ingress and egress of tenantsand visitors, including clarity of responsibility between theparties on activities such as screening, enhanced common areacleaning (lobbies, parking, amenities) and changes to buildingoperations," says Ellzey. "Communicating these plans clearly andregularly to tenants should be a key area of focus. Many buildingowners are choosing community-building apps to do this virtually,allowing real-time and interactive engagement with tenant needs andconcerns."