Univera is latest WNY health insurer looking to downsize office space

Jul. 8—A major Western New York health insurer is planning to downsize its office footprint in Amherst, a reality of remote work's rise in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic that altered — perhaps permanently — the way people do their jobs.

Univera Healthcare is evaluating its options as lease expiration nears on the roughly 129,000-square-foot building at 205 Park Club Lane.

Univera President Art Wingerter said the health plan is in discussions with building owner, Ciminelli Real Estate, about scaling back the square footage it rents in the building. While the lease has a couple years remaining, it is clear that Univera does not need as much office space with the "vast majority" of its 565 local employees working remotely, he added.

"We haven't settled on what the downsized space would be," Wingerter said. "We are in early discussions of what it might look like, so I don't want to commit to a number."

This is not, of course, an unfamiliar story. The Covid-19 pandemic's early days forced remote work for most office employees, and companies evaluated worker production, weighing it against the potential for savings from unnecessary real estate costs. The aftermath has left office landlords and developers fighting for tenants, some of which require less square footage than before the pandemic hit.

Western New York's health insurers are a telling case study. All employ hundreds, if not thousands, and many of those workers — particularly in the customer service ranks — can work from anywhere with reliable internet and phone connections.

Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of Western New York will complete its move to the top five floors of Seneca One tower in mid-July, spokesperson Kyle Rogers said. Highmark is leasing around 100,000 square feet in Seneca One, less than a quarter of the space it leased at its longtime home at 257 W. Genesee St.

While it is a big drop in footprint, Highmark was only actively using about 145,000 square feet of 257 W. Genesee St. as of a year ago, a result of only a couple hundred of its 1,400 local employees coming into the office on an average day.

Over at Independent Health, which employs about 1,200 locally, the health plan this year put one of its buildings on its Amherst campus up for sale. The building, at 150 Essjay Drive, is listed for $4.9 million and had relatively few Independent Health employees working in it.

Independent Health spokesperson Frank Sava said about 30% of the company's workforce comes onsite on a daily basis, though that figure increases for company, departmental and leadership meetings.

Wingerter did not put a number on how many Univera employees are regularly coming into the office, though he noted very few staff members are required to be on site outside of those working in information technology. As of mid-2022, less than 10% of Univera's local workforce had chosen to work on site at least three days per week.

Wingerter said he believes Western New York's history with snowstorms and other inclement weather may have helped ease the transition to remote work during the pandemic. Pre-pandemic, Wingerter said Univera would advise employees before a snowstorm to take their laptops home and be prepared to work from home for a couple days.

Now, working from home is the norm.

"Overwhelmingly, our surveys and our discussions with our employees are that they like having the current situation, having the flexibility," Wingerter said. "If they want to work at home, they can work at home. If they want to come to the office, there's always a space available for them."

Univera does occasionally have department meetings that bring in more people. And on special event days, where Univera might bring in food trucks for the day, Wingerter said the health plan could see up to 250 employees in person.

While Wingerter noted remote work doesn't lead to the same collaboration or collisions at work, technology such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom has helped make up for it.

Wingerter also said Univera, in its hybrid work environment, has seen no drop in employee productivity.

"It's the same, if not better productivity," he said.

The hybrid work environment, he said, also has boosted employee retention and recruitment.

But Univera is still committed to maintaining a Western New York office. Wingerter said the health plan likes its current building's accessibility and visible location, and the company has invested in IT needs in the space.

Wingerter is familiar with the building — it was once the location of a high school, which Wingerter attended — but he also knows Univera doesn't need to lease the whole structure anymore.

"We've been very efficient in this environment," he said. "We're transparent with our workforce that we intend to continue to stay at this rate of occupancy in the building, and there's no immediate future to call them back or have any mandatory presence in the building."

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