The percentage of office space vacant in Hartford, CT is below the national average. But rents are also growing more slowly there than in the rest of the U.S.

Hartford’s slow economy is to blame. Since 1991, Hartford employment has grown just 0.1% a year, on average. That’s relatively consistent growth — but a full 100 basis points less than the rest of the U.S. As a result, office developers aren’t building, and Hartford’s total inventory of office space shrank 2% since 2010 due to demotions.

There is cause to hope. A new campus of the University of Connecticut, along with the conversion of the old Bank of America office tower to apartments, is bringing a little more life downtown, according to Mark Hickey, consultant for CoStar.

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