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DC Office Shift to Urban Leaves Suburban Devastation
During the 1980s, Washington DC office tenants favored buildings with highway access. Enter the 2010s, and demand has shifted away from suburban properties on four- and six-lane highways, to more centrally-located urban locales close to mass transit.
This has meant high vacancy rates in the suburbs. For example, in Northern Virginia, 151 spaces exist that are 50,000 square feet or more.
But, older CBD buildings aren’t faring much better in the nation’s capital. New developments mean the market is flush with space, and landlords of newer buildings are stealing tenants from older ones.
“People are just not taking as much office space anymore,” said Thomas Fulcher with Savills Studley. “Even if companies are growing, they are not taking as much space.”
- ◦Lease
