"Cutting expenses is a leading concern of 31%of chief financialofficers polled recently by aconsulting firm," says Bill Tobin,president of CRESAPartners."Their concern is likely to result inmany moreconsolidations." Tobin cautions that consolidationinvolves much morethan adding or subtracting square footage. Afterall,consolidations mean major changes for employees as faras theirworkspace, colleagues and commuting isconcerned.

CRESA Partners helped manage a recent consolidationfor ADCTelecommunications, based in Minnetonka, MN. ADC had threeseparatefacilities and several sales people workingout of their homes inthe Chicago area, and wanted tocut the costs of multiple offices,manage growth andenhance its presence in the Chicago market. Onegroupneeded office space near existing warehouse space androom forsignificant growth; another needed class Aoffice space; and thethird needed basic office spacefor new employees.

A key step in the consolidation was to map out whereexistingemployees lived, and estimate their drivetime to work. After all,in tight labor markets,companies cannot afford to lose employeesbecause of amove. ADC's future labor base and customer basewerealso analyzed by CRESA along with otherneeds, such as growth,parking, and current leaseobligations.