Downtown To See More Demand for Office Space

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL-The demand for office space is expected to increase in this Downtown submarket of Broward County as the area moves toward a round-the-clock neighborhood, according to a new market update by CB Richard Ellis.The market is experiencing decreasing direct vacancy rates, subleases and recently rising average asking rental rates, the report states. Meanwhile, the Cypress Creek submarket is the market for tenants. Here, most of the new leasing activity is in class A space, and these average asking rental rates are stable, the report states.Higher vacancy rates may be on the horizon in Plantation, where a 220,000-sf, class A project is planned, as are two other speculative class A projects. These developments will make large contiguous spaces available–something that has been a rarity in the submarket, according to CBRE.New leasing activity is quiet in the Commercial Boulevard submarket, which remains fairly flat and has seen vacancy rates drop gradually in the past nine months. On the other hand, vacancy rates have increased recently in the Southwest Broward submarket, which many tenants left for other submarkets. The tight conditions here have led to fast-growing average asking rental rates. The Northwest Broward submarket also is tight, as it has had just one new property in the last three years. Low vacancy rates and rising average asking rates characterize this submarket.