May 4
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
But for Corey Udkoff, this is where he and his company shine.
Udkoff is a partner at Relocation Strategies, a project management firm in Irvine that fills a unique niche role in Orange County’s commercial real estate ecosystem.
His firm doesn’t handle the physical moving, he told the Business Journal.
Instead, they handle everything between signing the lease and opening for business.
“We’re the general contractor for something that companies haven’t done in three, five, 15 or 20 years,” Udkoff said. “We can help them with the budget, schedule the timeline and construction management… At the end of the day, the value add is saving companies a tremendous amount of time, money and stress.”
After Udkoff bought out his franchise agreement during the pandemic, the firm began operating nationwide as an owner’s representative. They handle everything from checking if a site is suitable and managing construction to negotiating contracts for IT, furniture and cabling.
As the market changes after the pandemic, Udkoff says about 60% of his business is still in office spaces, with about 30% industrial and the rest healthcare, nonprofits and medical offices close behind.
Udkoff said he’s seeing a trend: some companies are moving to smaller, highquality spaces with better amenities to attract employees, underscoring the shift toward quality, especially as more companies are asking their employees to return to the office.
“A lot of companies are spending extra money on the kitchen, almost like a cafe environment,” Udkoff said. “People, even if they’re doing a hybrid schedule, still want to have their own space. They want a destination they feel comfortable in.”
Udkoff said the firm brings in $600,000 to $700,000 a year with just four team members.
The company helped Morinaga & Co., the makers of the Japanese Hi-Chew candy, relocate its U.S. headquarters to Irvine in 2017. Their clients also include well-known companies such as Jollibee, Western Growers and LPA Design Studios.
Udkoff often sees companies trying to handle moves themselves, usually assigning the job to an already-busy HR director, adminstrator or office manager.
“We bring sanity,” Udkoff said. “Instead of throwing someone at it who already has a full plate of day-to-day responsibilities, we handle the logistics. We make sure the client can focus on their actual business while we manage the 90 different vendors it takes to make a move happen.”
As companies in Orange County figure out how to bring people back to the office, Udkoff believes that having a good physical workspace remains important for moving forward.
“People who are working in the office seem to get promoted quicker,” Udkoff said. “The companies that understand how to use their space as a tool for culture are the ones winning right now.”