CHICAGO—The migration of firms from suburban office parks into downtown buildings is a well-advanced process in many core metro areas, including Chicago. But that trend is now gathering steam in many secondary markets where the suburbs have until recently dominated the office market, including Detroit, Indianapolis and Kansas City. And the trend seems driven by the same factors. Millennials all over the nation have rejected suburban lifestyles in favor of walkable neighborhoods in and around urban cores. And that, in turn, has tech-oriented and creative firms flocking to downtown spaces, especially older class B buildings that provide greater aesthetic appeal than many glass towers or suburban campuses. The numbers cited just below, and in an accompanying story on the Indianapolis market, tell the story. But it is highly unlikely that these revived downtowns will begin to dominate their respective regions. As has been seen in the Chicago metro area, where some firms have committed extraordinary resources to new suburban office developments, the suburbs in each area retain a lot of appeal. Tech firms may be headed to downtown Indianapolis, for example, but healthcare and financial services seem happy to remain in the outlying submarkets. Therefore, in the future, most US metros should see a greater balance in demand.

BY THE NUMBERS

INDIANAPOLIS—The office market in this city's CBD has had a great year, according to a new report from JLL, as several firm have abandoned the suburbs in favor of downtown space. It's a big change for this region, where the suburbs have been dominant for a long time. New tenants leased 170,000 square feet in the CBD, leading to more than 100,000 square feet of positive absorption, the most of any submarket. “It was also one of the only submarkets to see vacancy decrease since last quarter,” JLL reported. “This trend will surely continue as almost 150,000 square feet in active requirements of current suburban tenants are looking to move downtown.”