By Anders Pesavento, Cushman & Wakefield If you have ever been to a pro sports game or a concert and felt that collective buzz, you know exactly what I mean — it is electric. The kind of energy that makes you look around and think, right, this is why we do this. I felt it first-hand when the Cross Country Skiing World Cup came to Minneapolis in 2024, and more than 30,000 people packed into one place to cheer on the athletes. That day was a reminder you cannot replicate with a livestream or a group chat: humans feed off other humans. The office market is tapping into that same instinct, just in a quieter way. That is why the conversation has moved from whether office matters to which offices matter. It is not a blanket comeback. It is a sorting. We are not rewinding to 2019. Companies are using spaces differently and choosing buildings that help them recruit and retain talent. Hybrid schedules are real, but so is the need for culture, onboarding and collaboration that works best face-to-face. That shift makes “vacancy” a blunt instrument. Real vacancy is the space that is truly available in buildings that can …
