Millsaps tells GlobeSt.com that Dedon shopped the market hard before settling on Enterprise Park II in the Airport Corridor submarket of Greensboro. The site offered Dedon easy access to the Triad International Airport and major interstates.

“Highwoods was able to configure the space at a much better value than competing buildings,” Millsaps says. “That made Enterprise Park II and efficient option for Dedon.”

Although Greensboro has seen a few large deals in 2010, Dedon is among the largest at nearly 80,000 square feet. In February, LabCorp leased 80,000 square feet in Greensboro for a call center and the IRS leased 85,000 square feet of space to consolidate its operations.

But these headline-making deals don’t characterize the market. Vacancy rates in the Triad reached 18.3 percent in the first quarter of 2010. That’s up just slightly from 18 percent in the year-ago period, according to the most recent data from Karnes Research Co.

Office vacancy rates were 19.2 percent at the end of 2009. But Triad brokers long for the return of a healthy market, which is marked by between 12 percent and 14 percent vacancy. There is about 5 million square feet of office space sitting vacant across Greensboro, Winston-Salem and High Point.

“The rates are at least 25 percent off where they were three years ago,” Millsaps says. “We’ve still got a lot to absorb. The good thing is the landlords are waking up to the realities and we are seeing more activity and more deals.”