KBS Partners with Technology Firm to Reconfigure Office Space to Create Safe Working Environments for Tenants

Washington D.C., (August 26, 2020) – KBS, one of the largest investors in premier commercial real estate in the nation, has partnered with Maptician, a cloud-based, workplace management platform to utilize technology and data to reconfigure office and community spaces to facilitate an organized and safety-conscious return-to-office for tenants.

KBS has launched this platform at six of its office assets in the D.C. Metro, Atlanta and Pennsylvania areas including 1000 Continental, One Washingtonian Center, Redwood Plaza I, I &III, Willow Oaks Corporate Plaza, CrossPoint and 171 17^th Street.

“The Maptician Flex software allows us to utilize data and provide solutions for reconfiguring community spaces, fitness centers, coffee stations and other shared amenities throughout our office campuses in order to ensure that we are carefully creating safe and healthy environments for our tenants as they return to their offices,” says Marc DeLuca, regional president, eastern United States for KBS. “We are initially rolling this platform out in six of our properties; however, we envision this software rolling out nationwide across our $8 billion portfolio of office assets.”

KBS plans to utilize this technology to reconfigure community spaces and amenities, as well as the company’s progressive spec suite program to help potential clients map out future offices that take into account CDC guidelines for fighting COVID-19.

“We currently have new build-outs underway at all six properties for common area spaces that allow for social distancing, contact tracing functionality, capacity-limited seating and de-densification,” explains DeLuca. “We are also utilizing this technology for spec suite space at two of the properties, which will allow us to truly deliver safe and functional environments to potential new tenants or current tenants looking to expand. As we move further into the pandemic, we will likely see an increased need among tenants for more space. In the past, tenants may have required 85-to-100 square feet per employee whereas now we may see this number double to 170-to-200 square feet per employee. The spec suites utilizing Maptician software will create an opportunity for tenants to expand to spaces already fit to meet social distancing and health needs.”

KBS also plans to introduce this technology to tenants at each of the six properties. Maptician Flex allows tenants to assess social distancing risks within their offices, perform contact tracking, plan a staged return-to-work strategy, and provides employees a mobile app to view the changes made, and gives the tenants the tools to operate more safely.

“We’ve taken a very proactive approach throughout this pandemic to reassure our tenants that their safety and wellbeing is our first priority,” says DeLuca. “This partnership with Maptician is an extension of that commitment. The question on everyone’s mind is: ‘what will going back to the office look like?’ The features that Maptician Flex offers will visually give our tenants some clarity and the ability to customize their return options.”

Working with Maptician gives KBS’ property managers a consolidated view of their common areas and can electronically reference the additional physical signage and additions made to the property, including: location of hand sanitizing stations, social distancing markers and measurements, reservation utilities for conference rooms and fitness centers, pre-configured layouts of conference center areas and more. Tenants will have the ability to upload their floorplans and identify any problems areas to make needed adjustments and schedule/reserve cubicles and assign seats, among other features.

“Maptician Flex helps properties perform risk analysis of community spaces and assists tenants with creating and implementing a planned return to their offices that prioritizes the safety and wellness of their employees,” says John Wichmann, COO and co-founder of Maptician. “As municipalities and state governments begin to set guidelines for companies to return to the office safely, KBS and Maptician have joined to equip KBS properties with technology that will facilitate the adherence to these guidelines and enable companies to return to the office efficiently and safely.”

Numerous features within Maptician are already aligned to help support emerging government-mandated protocols, including space evaluation for social distancing risk, capacity-limited seat reservations, schedule-based return to office groupings, contact tracing reports, self-attestation and check-in functionality, space management and de-densification.