DURHAM, N.C — The term “environment” is typically thought of as being strictly outdoors, but for office owners, investors and tenants, the interior of office buildings is an environment unto itself. And like planet Earth, an office environment needs investment in order to protect its inhabitants. “We believe the workplace, where employees spend eight hours a day or longer, must provide a healthy and stimulating interior environment,” says Dan Goldstein, managing partner with Accesso Partners LLC of Hallandale Beach, Florida. Goldstein, whose 15-year-old company owns Class A office towers spanning 15 million square feet in major U.S. cities, contends “it makes good business sense to invest capital in an interior environment where employees are productive, efficient and above all, healthy, which cuts down on illnesses and absenteeism and contributes to job satisfaction.” Accesso Partners is doing more than just preaching. In Durham, the institutional commercial real estate fund recently installed a new lighting solution at its 10-building, 690,520-square-foot space within the Meridian Corporate Center, which is adjacent to the famed Research Triangle Park. The result has been brighter offices that are easier on the eyes and more conductive for close-up, meticulously detailed work. There is also a flipside to that …
