Written by: Hannah Williams, CPRC
Hannah specializes in research capabilities, providing support for the Colliers Columbus Office, Industrial, Retail, and Multifamily Groups. She is responsible for executing data reports, maintaining a commercial property database, reporting quarterly trends, performing data analysis and utilizing statistical information to predict future behavior in the market. She also assists the marketing and research director on special projects and corporate initiatives. Keep reading to get Hannah’s take on what’s happening in the Columbus office market.
Tenant Migration – Where are Tenants Moving?
Tenants are constantly relocating their office space to better fit their needs. Using a points system based on signed square feet, we are able to track where office users are coming and going throughout the city. Here are some findings from our Q3 2021 Report:
1/3 of tenants from outside of the market signed in the East submarket
75% of tenants that left space in the CBD leased space elsewhere in the CBD
Financial Services and Engineering/Manufacturing tenants accounted for the 5 largest leases of the quarter
Skyline Review – What’s Happening Downtown?
The overall Columbus market continues to be impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but the CBD submarket had a strong second quarter, posting 34,695 square feet of net absorption. A majority of this can be attributed to the completion of the Arena District expansion building, in which Chipotle recently occupied 98,000 square feet. CBD vacancy held fairly steady at 11.62 percent, which is lower than the market vacancy of 12.67 percent. Overall asking rates in the downtown area slightly decreased this quarter, from $19.74 FSG per square foot to $19.61 FSG per square foot. The CBD continues to lead construction activity, with 892,938 square feet currently underway downtown. This includes phase 1 of Scioto Peninsula, phase 2 of the CoverMyMeds headquarters, the second half of Gravity in Franklinton and the renovation of the Municipal Light Building. Tenants are continuing to stay active in the CBD, with 36 users representing 516,000 square feet currently searching for space specifically in the Central Business District. Central Ohio can anticipate a slow but steady recovery as the office market continues to rebound and adapt to a post-COVID world.
Click here to check out our Q3 2021 Tenant Migration and Skyline Review reports!