IREM celebrates Shenzhen Unova’s innovation with REME Award
IREM’s REME Awards celebrate achievements in real estate management in several categories, including Corporate Innovation. In 2019, Shenzhen Unova Business Management Co., Ltd. (Unova), was honored with this award, the first REME Award for a China-based company.
Who is Unova?
Unova specializes in commercial real estate operations and management, such as shopping malls, travel destination real estate, co-working and rental apartments. In March 2018, Unova acquired a management and operations contract for a 15,000-square-meter space in a commercial annex in Shenzhen, a city in southeast China. The company performed a major renovation, converting it into a co-working and retail space in the heart of the city’s central business district.
General Manager Jesse Hou says the renovated space, which opened in February 2019, is designed to welcome businesses and individuals, especially those in marketing and creative fields. Unova recognized that most of the available co-working office space was formal and tailored to the needs of traditional businesses. The company hoped a relaxed and inviting space would have greater appeal to a younger demographic, and those in the social media, marketing, media arts, and other creative business sectors. And it did.
Success achieved!
The company reached an 80 percent occupancy rate within three months of their soft opening, proving the company fills an important gap in the local real estate market. Unova offers two types of working spaces—fully furnished, independent office space, and communal, co-working space. Meeting rooms are available for presentations or training, and there are 20 rooms designated exclusively for videoconferencing and private client meetings. Business support for tenants is available at the business center, which can receive package shipments, faxed documents, and offers business consulting services.
The Shenzhen facility also offers four living rooms for users to enjoy, each with a different theme; a communal bar and kitchen, 10 private phone booths, a library, and furniture crafted specifically for this unique space. Retail businesses are also drawn to the property, with cafes, salons and gyms open to the public.
Filling the technology gap
Unova partnered with co-working space operator Distrii to provide an app that allows tenants to reserve and interact with smart meeting rooms and intelligent work stations, and to control office access. The app also has human resource functions for tenants to clock in and out, and to communicate with other businesses in the building.
What’s next for Unova?
As a premier provider of co-working space in Shenzhen, Unova hopes to become the recognized brand for this business model and has plans to replicate it in other cities across China— Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou—as well as globally. With some models projecting an increase in co-working spaces of 42% worldwide from 2019 through 2022, the company’s business model can expect solid growth.