Dallas-Based CBRE Acquires Buildingi to Help Companies Transform Their Occupancy Strategies

What will the future of office look like? When the pandemic finally ebbs, the new normal may be a flexible mix of in-office and remote work, with offices nationwide retooled to offer enhanced employee amenities. With that reimagining in mind, CBRE announced today it has acquired Buildingi, a leading provider of occupancy planning and technology services.

Financial terms were not disclosed. Bellevue, Washington-based Buildingi will fully integrate with CBRE’s occupancy management team and be known initially as “Buildingi from CBRE.”

The acquisition includes Buildingi’s shared service center near San Jose, Costa Rica, which will now complement CBRE’s own centers in Europe and Asia. CBRE says it can now provide “24/7 foundational occupancy planning services,” including technical drawings, spatial data management, work order processing, and test fit support.

Holistic occupancy management services

Dallas-based CBRE aims to meet the growing demand for holistic occupancy management services. That makes Buildingi a perfect fit—its space utilization data management and Computer-Aided Design (CAD) services will now bolster CBRE’s occupancy management offering.

By leveraging Buildingi’s CAD strengths, integrated workplace management systems (IWMS), and building information modeling (BIM), CBRE can help some of the world’s largest organizations think differently about how their offices work and flow.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted more companies to reimagine their workplace and occupancy strategies as they look to provide employees with more flexibility as they return to the office,” said Susan Wasmund, CBRE’s senior managing director of occupancy management, in a statement. “Now more than ever, CBRE and Buildingi have a unique opportunity to fill the need in the marketplace by bringing together the best of each organization’s people and services.”

[Photo: CBRE]

Reimagining occupancy strategies

Before you can reimagine a workplace, you have to see it—not just by walking the halls, but by analyzing CAD drawings, blueprints, plans, and archives.

Buildingi ensures that companies’ CAD and BIM records are current and accurate, “so they always have a single source of the truth.” As the foundation for a workplace team’s operational systems, accurate records reveal what a company has, where it is, and how it’s being used.

Buildingi then leverages its suite of IWMS software to help companies “manage the complete lifecycle of their workplace portfolio.” The company says it has “successfully implemented IWMS systems hundreds of times all across the globe.”

All these tools will ultimately be used to rethink occupancy planning. Buildingi provides full-time, project-based, or variable occupancy planning to help companies align their workplaces with their strategy. And after two years of the pandemic, reimagining occupancy strategy is a critical step in moving companies forward into the future.

To help realize those strategies, Buildingi provides occupancy studies, data analytics, visualization, move planning, relocation, and project management services.

And now their teams have the power of CBRE behind them to make it all work even better.

Bill Nolan, founder and CEO of Buildingi, is now an executive managing director at CBRE. [Photo: LinkedIn]

Buildingi CEO: ‘A complete technology product offering’

“Since starting Buildingi nearly three decades ago, we have proven to be an innovator and leader in the development of workplace and occupancy solutions,” said Bill Nolan, CEO of Buildingi, in the statement.

“By joining forces with the world’s largest real estate services company, we can help clients even more as they return to the office through our integrated and experienced sales team and a complete technology product offering,” Nolan added.

As CBRE shores up its occupancy offering for companies worldwide, it’s also made news recently closer to its HQ home. Just last month, CBRE announced a $7.25 million Community Impact Initiative to help combat climate change globally, improve educational and career development opportunities for racial minorities and disadvantaged populations across the U.S., and support community betterment efforts in Dallas.