The rapid expansion of the Millennial workforce globally, particularly in the United States, has produced a series of changes in business philosophy that could not have been envisioned two decades ago and was, even more recently, not totally acknowledged.
Today, it is evident that these younger, more demanding employees who now constitute the largest single age group across all industries, are the catalyst for change that will have a lasting effect on the economy, the workforce and even the design of buildings and factories. It's based in technology, but it's not only the online presence that is noticeable.
What Millennials Actually Want
Much has been written about the new generational need for "life-work balance." Baby boomers had more
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It's obvious that the diverse field of commercial real estate—development, design, management and sales—is changing rapidly, influenced by emerging trends in business and technology that have an effect over a broad spectrum of industries. This new reality may initially be disruptive, but there are changes in store that will affect all aspects of real estate business.
For the fourth year in a row, the U.S. tops the list of favored destinations for a sizable number of wealthy Chinese individuals who wish to leave their country. Ireland and Canada placed second and third, respectively.
Distinctive buildings, from decaying warehouses to abandoned churches, have become trendy targets for new development throughout the country. Many of them require extensive redevelopment, but they often have unique characteristics that promise opportunities for specialty leasing. In addition, in some areas entire neighborhoods full of distressed and underused properties are ripe for modernization and for what today is termed adaptive reuse.
W.A. Mortenson won a previous round of bidding with a proposal for a hotel at 800 Washington Avenue S. in Minneapolis MN. However, those plans were abandoned when the company encountered financing difficulties. Now Minneapolis has an opportunity to consider a different type of development on a half-acre-plus rectangular lot sandwiched between the Riverfront Parking Ramp and Washington Ave. In April, the city called for new RFPs on the city-owned tract, and four developers responded. 
The early-May announcement that Pulte Homes plans to build a major new senior home development in Corcoran was greeted with enthusiasm, but it's not the only big news on the development scene in the Twin Cities. Pulte and other developers seem to be betting that the Olmstead region will continue to grow during the next decade.
Boutique hotel operators and gourmet restaurant chefs across the nation have discovered the appeal of locally grown seasonal produce and artisanal menu offerings.
Target Corp. recently announced plans to remodel 28 Twin Cities stores this year as part of a $1 billion effort to revamp the look of 325 of its locations nationwide. Locally, the renovations, which target about half of the Twin City Target stores, will cost about $250 million, and this is the largest single market for 2018 updates, although approximately 325 stores nationwide are targeted for renovation this year. There are no plans for store closings during the planned remodels.
No one today would dispute the need for building-wide reliable communication. Business and commerce run on digital connections, and developers who underestimate the need for such services simply cannot compete in an increasingly technology-dependent world.
Time spent in traffic is just as unpleasant for commuters in Minneapolis and St. Paul as lengthy train or bus rides are for residents of Delhi. Residents of sprawling Dallas and Los Angeles complain about the distances—and the time—it takes to get from one suburb to another, or from the airport to the urban core. Globally, from Sydney, Australia to Paris, from Hong Kong to Delhi, business travelers yearn for faster, more efficients ways to get to work.