Hines Launches Network of Workspaces for Tenants to Use

Hines is making moves in the global real estate world.

The Houston-based real estate investment firm has launched the SQ Collection, its new “global network” of locations where tenants can access a variety of offices, conference rooms and event spaces within the Hines portfolio, Commercial Observer has learned.

The offering is now available to tenants of Hines’ buildings in New York City, Chicago, Denver, Toronto and Washington, D.C. (with plans to expand soon to Paris) and allows them to access any of Hines’ coworking spaces that are part of the collection.

“Our clients are utilizing space in more dynamic and flexible ways than ever before,” Whitney Burns, Hines’ senior vice president of global client strategy, told CO. “And so we’ve really tried to listen to our clients and what they need, and reimagine our real estate in ways that better serve them. 

“They now have access to this new network of space that really allows them to have more flexibility beyond the four walls of their own office,” Burns added.

This latest venture into the coworking world comes in the aftermath of the pandemic as more and more landlords attempt to offer more flexibility to tenants. It follows similar portfolio-wide moves by Nuveen, which announced a new hybrid work experience with Industrious in March, as well as Tishman Speyer and the Durst Organization launching their own coworking brands.

Through Hines’ workplace platform The Square and the Here by Hines app, clients can reserve individual offices, conference rooms and outdoor spaces for “on-demand flexibility in how and where they work,” Hines said in a release.

The firm decided to launch the collection to “redefine what [its] office experience is” and to give its tenants “convenience” and “flexibility” within their workspaces, Burns said. There are fees associated with booking a space, depending on the length and location of the reservation, she added.

“The SQ Collection showcases our commitment to being a genuine partner to our investor and tenant clients,” Steve Luthman, CEO of Hines’ Midwest, Southeast and Canada regions, said in a statement. “As real estate evolves into a service, we are no longer confined to serving clients within the walls of a single building and can now offer global connectivity through vibrant spaces in prime locations, enhancing tenant convenience and maximizing property values.”

Hines has already opened SQ Collection locations in New York City at 205 Hudson Street, 435 Hudson Street, 555 Greenwich Street, 155 Avenue of the Americas and 75 Varick Street.

The landlord, along with Trinity Real Estate and Norges Bank, owns the recently renovated trio of buildings at 75 Varick Street, 225 Varick Street and 155 Avenue of the Americas — home to major tech and media companies such as Squarespace and Horizon Media, as CO previously reported.

Hines has also already opened SQ Collection spaces at its buildings in Toronto, Chicago, Denver and Washington, D.C., and the firm said it’s even getting ready to expand overseas to Paris.

Isabelle Durso can be reached at idurso@commercialobserver.com.