GO Will Show There's Enough Happening Inside A Workspace For The Business Running Outside

When a big employer opens a new site, restaurants, cafes and bars all want to be near.

In today’s democratized news and social media, the number of workers who will be at an upcoming gigantic plant is often shared well ahead of its opening (Think Amazon HQ2 and its impending arrival at Virginia’s Crystal City).

Yet, given the unpredictability of business and the events beyond a company’s control, moves can sometimes be delayed, meaning the arrival of potential customers to a market might be held up too. For entrepreneurs planning ventures around new openings, few things could be as foreboding.

But with Orbital Insight’s GO, the trends inside a workspace can now be visible to those outside.

GO’s geospatial-powered foot-traffic capturing capabilities will tell if there are adequate potential customers in any commercial Area of Interest (AOI) for businesses considering venturing there.

Its anonymized data, now normalized for high accuracy contextualized results, can be used to detect daily visitation patterns and anomalous activity — offering a key measure of workflow analytics.

New Building Occupancy at Facebook MPK 21

Above: Orbital Insight GO continuously monitors foot traffic at Facebook’s MPK21 to track daily workforce growth.

GO’s study of foot-traffic at one of Facebook Headquarters’ new building, MPK 21, is an example of the activity uptick that usually comes as occupancy ramps up at any new building, block or strip. The timeline on the data, from the construction stage to employee move-in, clearly demonstrates the upswing in workforce trends.

New Building Occupancy Ramp Up

Above: Orbital Insight GO detects construction completion of MPK21 in July 2018 and employees beginning to move in with stabilization during Q3 2018.

The MPK 21 example also shows the benefits of prudent site selection and the real estate opportunities for neighboring areas from the foot-traffic boom in the original AOI.

Facebook describes MPK 21, built in less than 18 months, as a “highly sustainable building” with a 3.6-acre rooftop garden featuring over 200 trees and a half-mile meandering pathway. Within, there are five dining options, 15 art installations, a 2,000-person event, and meeting space.

MPK 21’s foot-traffic count trebled by July 2018 as staff began to move into the new headquarters. It stabilized at a slightly lower level early this year, then spiked in the summer, growing by about 30% before coming off those highs again.

New building occupancy ramp-ups are particularly important for real estate sellers/buyers and brokers. A sudden increase in traffic could mean a rise in leasing rates/sales prices.

On the other hand — for tenants looking to open a new storefront (often costing >$1mn), the ability to understand opportunistic traffic trends in the area is a huge determinant on what is right for the area — be it another restaurant, bar, cafe, or another entertainment venue.

For more information on gaining activity-based insights using GO, please reach out to support@orbitalinsight.com