Fort Lauderdale’s Office Sector Sees Pick up in Spec Suites

Spec suites, spaces that are move-in ready for tenants, are starting to take off in South Florida’s office sector.Particularly Fort Lauderdale is standing out by offering 52 spec suites through 16 properties for lease, a new report from Avison Young finds. That accounts for more than 61,000 square feet.The area has completed at least 17 transactions for the category year-to-date, up from 2023’s 12.The Downtown submarket stands out the most by offering 26 suites and over 61,000 square feet of space. Compare that to Southwest Broward, which has 13 available for 38,000 square feet. Some smaller spec suite regions in Florida include Pompano Beach and Hollywood, offering just over 10,000 square feet each.Currently, in Fort Lauderdale’s office market, 29 spaces are listed as vacant and built out. Of those, 23 remain in the under-construction or design stages.“As we see more and more companies looking to open an office in South Florida, spec suites provide an easy solution to acquire office space with minimal planning and construction delays,” Greg Martin, Avison Young’s Fort Lauderdale managing director, said in a statement.“Additionally, the growing demand from the existing tenant base to ‘right size’ their current office footprint for a more productive work environment is also driving a need for ‘ready to go’ spaces. The savings associated with time, money and energy provide for a win-win situation for both the landlord and the tenant.”But most importantly, office is continuing to recover from its pandemic lows. South Florida is the leader in the nation, as at least nine out of 10 employees are back to working on-site versus pre-pandemic levels, according to the Fort Lauderdale Downtown Development Authority.“While remote work is here to stay, Downtown Fort Lauderdale has largely been immune from any negative impacts caused by declining foot traffic of office workers,” the authority said.Many experts including Goldman Sachs believe that office has bottomed out.