Hartford Business Journal

4 Hartford Business Journal | March 22, 2021 | HartfordBusiness.com Deal Watch By Matt Pilon mpilon@hartfordbusiness.com A year ago, Windsor Federal Savings was nearly done designing the interior of its new administrative office space on Day Hill Road when COVID-19 struck and sent the mutual bank and its architect scrambling. After some delay, the roughly 20,000-square-foot office space is now complete and looks completely different than originally imagined, following a series of safety-inspired changes to the layout, appliances and other elements, including high cubicle walls, specialty air filters and touchless toilets. "We took a major pivot," said George Hermann, CEO of Windsor Federal, which has $655.8 million in assets. "The health of our employees is the most important thing and drives everything we do. We tried not to worry too much about cost." Employee benefits advisor OneDigital was in a similar boat, having just signed a lease to move to updated space at 195 Scott Swamp Road in Farmington right around the time COVID-19 reached Connecticut. The company modified its open layout with glass partitions, and invested in sanitizing stations and new furniture with easily cleanable fabrics, as well as a dozen "huddle rooms" where workers can grab a few minutes of privacy when needed. "It was expensive, but it was a pivot that I think will pay us back in spades because our employees will feel safe coming back," said Emily Bailey, OneDigital's managing principal. Whether other Greater Hartford office tenants and landlords decide to make similar investments largely remains to be seen, but area real estate brokers, architects and interior designers say many company leaders are putting their heads together now to determine what their physical workplaces will look like moving forward. Over the next year, 87% of the 133 U.S. executives recently surveyed by accounting and consulting firm PwC said they expect to make changes to their real estate strategy, including consolidating office space, opening new suburban satellite locations, and redesigning the workplace for a more hybrid model where some office employees rotate in and out of shared spaces. "The ice is cracking a bit and there are definitely more decisions being made," said Cushman & Wakefield Executive Director Jon Putnam, adding that lease expiration dates will drive much of the activity, so don't expect everything to change overnight. Comforts of 'Home' Greater Hartford employers focus on office design, vibe to (eventually) coax back remote workers Emily Bailey Jon Putnam Farmington health benefits company OneDigital's new office space includes an open layout with glass partitions, sanitizing stations, new furniture with easily cleanable fabrics, and a dozen "huddle rooms" where workers can grab a few minutes of privacy when needed. PHOTO | RED SKIES PHOTOGRAPHY

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