I have a friend whose job is as a cost estimator for large construction projects. His biggest job has been paused, not for COVID reasons directly, but rather for the changes in the post-COVID world. The client feels that the building needs to be redesigned to provide more privacy, and less open work space. Since most recent buildings have featured open floor plans, it remains to be seen what the demand will be going forward. It may mean that older buildings, which might not even be Class A buildings anymore, will be desirable just because they have many small individual offices. It also may mean that flex space will be bought and reconfigured into cubicles.
Retail spaces may also be changed, and smaller spaces may become the sought after ones. It may also be that stores will have waiting areas, entry turnstiles, or different layouts over larger floor areas. Some retail may get used by service industries, like exercise studios that now need social distancing room, or salons and even medical facilities, for similar reasons.
Warehouse, as I have said many times, will be prime real estate for some time to come. The rise of e-commerce has been accelerated by the coronavirus, and that trend will continue. Location, as always, will determine value.
It's a brave new world, and we don't know everything that will happen, but change is surely in the cards.
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