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Office Sector to Make its Mark in Lehigh Valley

PHILADELPHIA-With 7 million sf and a 15% vacancy rate, Lehigh Valley office owners are luring New Jersey businesses and others with rates below the asking average of from $17 to $18 per sf, according to a report by Garibaldi's Michael Bartolacci.

By Marita Thomas | Updated on July 23, 2002

PHILADELPHIA-Best known for its 35 million sf of manufacturing and distribution space, the Lehigh Valley is now aggressively marketing office space, according to a report by Michael Bartolacci, vice president of Chatham, NJ-based The Garibaldi Group, who heads his firm’s newly opened office in Bethlehem, PA. “Industrial users are continuing to expand in the area, albeit at a slower pace,” he says.

The Lehigh Valley office market consists of more than 7 million sf, according to Bartolacci, and the vacancy rate is approximately 15%. “Asking rates for class-A space are between $17 and $18 per sf,” he says, adding, “there are several new class-A units and sublease availabilities, encouraging landlords to become more aggressive in their leasing practices.

“A trend in the region is the construction of office buildings in Downtownmarketplaces,” Bartolacci says. He cites Liberty Center in Downtown Bethlehem, leased by Fireman’s Fund Insurance, and the new 80,000-sf Broad & New Building, also in Bethlehem. In addition, he notes that Pennsylvania Power & Light is currently building a 209,000-sf facility in Downtown Allentown, which will include 30,000 sf of retail.

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