Stark Office Suites has opened its first Connecticut location, completing renovations atop the Stamford Marriott Hotel and Spa in a space that once served as a revolving restaurant with panoramic views of Long Island Sound.
The company is offering leases on 25 offices, as well as virtual-office services that provide a receptionist, conference space and other amenities for home-based businesspeople. Access to the hotel”™s fitness center and function rooms is available as well.
One of the world”™s largest flex-office operators says such centers represent a market that continues to grow in the uncertain economy. In survey results released in October, Regus plc said some 45 percent of businesses polled planned to hire remote-based workers including freelancers for the next few years.
That demographic plays into the business model of White Plains, N.Y.-based Stark Office Suites and other flex and virtual office space operators, with Stark running multiple centers in Westchester County and in New York City.
Company CEO Adam Stark said its newest offices are drawing interest not just from businesspeople in Fairfield County, but in New York as well ”“ one hedge fund operator Stark did not identify by name is making the new Stamford office his base of operation, having previously been located in Scarsdale.
“When we told our clients we were going to Stamford, a lot of them were happy because some of them want to be there,” Stark said. “Just look out our windows and you see a lot going on.”
Renovations went slower than expected largely due to the offices”™ signature feature ”“ that very curving bank of windows that ended up requiring a total replacement.
“They had to replace the entire working window wall,” Stark said. “We were originally under the impression that come May or June, we were going to be operating.”
If the windows have been switched out, Stark”™s view of the office suite business is largely unchanged from last spring.
“Generally speaking, a lot of the trends we saw seven or eight months ago are the same trends we see today,” Stark said. “Virtual services are growing very rapidly ”¦ I think that is reflective of an economy where people are keeping their overhead very low. The full-time business is very choppy. It (varies) from location to location.”
New York City remains Stark Office Suites”™ strongest market, he added, but that growth extends into the suburbs ”“ last spring, Regus announced plans to hire 50 additional salespeople to support its own growth in the tristate area and has opened a pair of offices in New York City in the past month alone with three more on tap.
The Manhattan skyline is visible from Stark Office Suites”™ newest location in Stamford, as well as sweeping vistas of Long Island Sound. If a spectacular view, Stark does not expect that to be the final selling point.
“Before someone takes an office, they want to sit in the chair,” he said. “They want to look it over ”¦ and you know what? We like that, because we don”™t like turnover.”
These office suites look great and with the facilities of the Marriott hotel and spa they provide a great offering.