Written by: Collin Fitzgerald and Brooke Ferman, Research Team
As the Research Team, Collin, Research Manager, and Brooke, Research Analyst, specialize in research capabilities, providing support for the Colliers Columbus Office, Industrial and Retail groups. They are 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. They also assist the marketing and research director on special projects and corporate initiatives. Keep reading for Collin and Brooke's take on market trends in the Columbus office and industrial sectors.
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. Check out our tenant migration heat map, and click around to find out more information on the movement within each submarket.
The largest lease of the quarter was signed by a Law tenant in the CBD. It was a renewal for over 58,000 square feet.
All tenants that left space in the CBD, Dublin or Polaris submarkets leased space elsewhere in the same submarket.
42% of tenants that signed new leases in the market were in the Business Services or Healthcare industries.
High-Rise Report - What's Happening Downtown?
The Columbus office market continues to adjust to the evolving workplace environment. Negative absorption was recorded for the fourth quarter of 2023, and the vacancy rate decreased to 17.41 percent. Asking rates have remained steady for an overall full-service gross rate of $21.78. Vacancy in the CBD decreased to 12.89 percent, which is lower than the overall market’s vacancy of 17.41 percent. The CBD also continues to lead construction activity, with 298,937 square feet currently underway downtown. This includes first phase of Scioto Peninsula, the Front and Fulton development, the second half of the Gravity project in Franklinton and the renovation of the Municipal Light Building. Tenants are continuing to stay active in the CBD, with 27 users representing 267,500 square feet currently searching for space specifically in the Central Business District. Columbus can anticipate increased activity this year as users become more comfortable entering the market and making decisions regarding their office space.
Sublease Activity - Analysis of Office Sublease Space
The majority of available sublease space is located in the Dublin, Easton and New Albany submarkets. 5100 Rings Road in Dublin was vacated by Cardinal Health, resulting in 406,000 square feet available and vacant for sublease. Additionally, Upstart vacated 240,000 square feet at 3075 Loyalty Circle in Easton in Q2, however available space decreased when Wells Fargo signed a 67K sublease in Q4 . 5400 New Albany Road is vacant and available for sublease in New Albany. These submarkets combined encompass 738K square feet of available sublease inventory.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, sublease space has increased significantly. In the Columbus office market, there are currently 67 spaces available for sublease, totaling over 1.8 million square feet.
Check out our Q4 2023 Tenant Migration Report, High-Rise Report and Sublease Activity Report here!