Empty Spaces: With Office Work Changed Forever Due to COVID-19, Office Parks Will Change, Too

February 24, 2022

The pandemic has altered the workplace dynamic, and experts say the North Jersey landscape built on officeparks is about to change forever.

“In the Northeast, the five-day-a-week in-office is history,” said Jim Hughes, a Rutgers professor and dean emeritus of the university’s Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy.

Employers are now adapting to the new normal of a flexible work environment after adjustments during the pandemic showed that work from home can be managed successfully. The office park is a relic of the past, before technology such as smartphones and high-speed internet were in every home, Hughes said.

“We have a huge inventory of obsolete space,” he said.

The Record, February 24, 2022

Recent Posts

Job Opportunity: Asst. Professor in Urban Planning

APPLY NOW AT https://jobs.rutgers.edu/postings/254087 The Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy (EJB) at Rutgers University-New Brunswick seeks to hire a full-time, tenure-track Assistant Professor for appointment beginning July 2026. Candidates...

“Work Trends RU” Podcast with Urban Institute’s Todd Greene

This week's guest on the Heldrich Center's Work Trends RU podcast is Todd Greene, Vice President of the Work, Education, and Labor Division at the Urban Institute and Executive Director of WorkRise. Todd is also Chair of the Heldrich Center's National Advisory Board....

NJ primary 2025: Results highlight weaker party machines

Several party-endorsed Assembly candidates lost. And the gubernatorial candidate endorsed by the county party lost in 10 counties The first state election with new ballots saw five party-endorsed Assembly candidates, an unusually large number, losing in last week’s...

Will Payne Maps NYC’s “Gourmet Gentrification” Trends

Mapping elite tastes along New York City’s gourmet gentrification frontier, 1990–2015 Abstract Urban researchers have long considered the spread of upscale amenities like restaurants, cafes and bars to be important symbolic indicators of gentrification, and recent...

Lessons from COVID-19: Students Can Thrive During Hardship

by Greg Bruno for Rutgers Today Rutgers researchers find that innovation, empathy and a commitment to diversity and inclusion are critical ingredients for educational attainment At Cedar Creek Elementary in Lacey Township, N.J., “Little Lion Helpers” serve as role...