Unispace

Proud moment for everyone involved in the BNZ HQ AKL Project at 80 Queen Street, Auckland, which received a Gold Award at the New Zealand Commercial Project Awards 2026 on Friday night, 15 May 2026. Over the past 2.5 years, I’ve had the privilege of leading the construction delivery of this landmark project as Senior Construction Project Manager alongside an incredible team of consultants, subcontractors, suppliers, and stakeholders. The project involved the staged refurbishment of approximately 20,000m² across 18 levels within a fully occupied live environment — including: • New flagship branch spaces • Executive and workplace floors • Community and collaboration spaces • Large-scale event and hospitality environments • Significant seismic, services, and infrastructure upgrades Delivering a project of this scale and complexity within an operational corporate headquarters required detailed planning, sequencing, stakeholder management, technical coordination, commissioning oversight, and strong collaboration across all teams involved. One of the aspects I’m most proud of is the way the wider team consistently overcame challenges while maintaining programme momentum, quality expectations, and operational continuity for the client throughout delivery. A huge thank you to: • The Unispace project and site team • BNZ and all project stakeholders • RCP, RDT, NDY, B&W, Holmes & Brevity. Our consultants & engineers, who are specialist in their fields. • Everyone who contributed behind the scenes across the duration of the project including our professional sub contractors. This award reflects an enormous collective effort and I’m incredibly proud to have played a leading role in delivering a workplace that sets a new benchmark for commercial refurbishment projects in New Zealand. #Construction #ProjectManagement #CommercialConstruction #SeniorConstructionProjectManager #FitOut #BNZ #Unispace #Leadership #NZCommercialProjects #Auckland #NewZealand #ConstructionExcellence

At today's Commercial Observer State of the Office Forum, someone asked the panel a simple question: has the definition of premium office space fundamentally changed? The answer came back fast. Yes. And it's not going back. How many Class B lobbies do you walk into where the security guard doesn't look up? Doesn't smile? You're signing your name in a paper book like it's 2003? That's not a capital problem. That's a choice. Ryan Simonetti of Convene put it well: C-suite real estate decisions are now being driven by the quality of the workplace experience, full stop. He called it "Return on Experience." ROE over ROI. As Unispace own Zachary Davis said, "The flight to quality is to provide the best space to beat out your competitors. What are your competitors doing? And how do you maximize that space for them?" That's the real question. And it doesn't stop at the building's front door. Our team at Unispace has been answering that question for firms in New York and around the country. If this is something you're thinking about, my inbox is always open.

Another year at the Association of Legal Administrators (ALA) Annual Conference, and another reminder of why this one stays on the calendar every year. Great conversations, the best people and plenty of familiar faces. One these that kept coming up: Return to Office (surprise, surprise). Organizations are leaning into RTO for productivity and collaboration, but the mandate alone is not the answer. But the mandate alone is not enough. The real differentiator is the space people are returning to. What stood out to me was the work Unispace is doing here. They are not just designing offices. They are engineering environments that make employees want to come in. Spaces that reduce friction, foster focus and drive the kind of collaboration that remote work simply doesn't replicate. The takeaway? RTO success if not about policy. It's about purpose-built environments that justify the commute. If RTO is on your radar, I would love to connect and swap notes. Drop a comment or send me a message. #ALACONF2026 #ALABuzz

What do you do when the best buildings in NYC are full? I spent 10 years as a CRE broker, and I remember how straightforward the "Flight to Quality" playbook used to be: you toured your client through the top three Trophy assets in the submarket, and the view, the amenity stack, and the address basically sold the lease. But Q1 2026 data tells us that playbook is officially retired. Based on data from several of the top CRE firms -in Manhattan, total Trophy direct availability is down 22% year-over-year. The squeeze is even tighter in Midtown, where the direct Trophy availability rate has hit a historic low of just 3.4%. This creates a massive bottleneck for brokers. Tenant expectations for a world-class HQ haven’t dropped, but the inventory to meet those needs simply isn't there anymore. This is where the broker’s true value as a strategist shines. The conversation is no longer about finding the preexisting asset; it’s about visualizing the transformation. I’m seeing more deals won lately because a broker could articulate how a Class A floorplate (even Class B+) can be engineered to deliver a Trophy-grade experience. It's about moving the focus from the building's facade to the interior workplace strategy and amenity package (i.e. Marx Realty 's 708 Third Avenue's incredible transformation into 10 Grand Central). At Unispace , we love this challenge. We specialize in helping brokers turn these high-performing "Class A-minus" opportunities into stunning, functional, trophy-caliber environments that satisfy the most discerning tenants. We bridge the gap between available inventory and client aspiration. To my brokerage network out there...how are you managing client expectations when their "Must Have" list outpaces the current Manhattan availability? Are you leaning into heavier TI packages or architectural interventions earlier in the deal? Let's discuss!