Office vacancy rates rise
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- August
- 6
New office space availability in northern Westchester, the White Plains area, and a belt of cities in the south helped push overall vacancies higher in the county in the second quarter, broker CB Richard Ellis said.
Of the 32.5 million square feet of total space, 15.2 percent was vacant or available for sublet at quarter’s end, up from 14.6 percent a year earlier, the broker’s latest market report said. Average rents rose from $26.47 a square foot to $28.40 in that period.
The northern end of the county saw the greatest absolute increase in available space, about 258,000 square feet, for total availability of 12 percent. Nicole Steel, a manager at CB Richard Ellis, said 270,000 square feet of space at the Reader’s Digest campus in Chappaqua is back on the market for office use after a residential development proposal was tabled.
On the positive side, Weekly Readers signed a lease for 80,000 square feet at 480 Bedford Road in Chappaqua.
The White Plains central business district added 43,000 square feet of available space to the market last quarter, while the area outside White Plains’ central district added about 156,000 square feet.
Part of the increase represents added space from the closing of the Argent Mortgage offices at 44 S. Broadway. But important deals also were signed, including Disney Publishing Worldwide’s 61,000-square-foot lease at 44 S. Broadway, and Greenberg Taurig, LLP’s 53,000-square-foot lease at 445 Hamilton Ave., CB Richard Ellis said.
Average rent for so-called Class A space in the city’s CBD rose from $29.43 per square foot to $35.19, representing greater demand for high-quality space in that area. About 14 percent of office space in the central business district was available for rent, an increase year over year of 1 percentage point.
The southern end of the county, representing Yonkers, New Rochelle, Mount Vernon and some surrounding communities, also saw more office space available for rent. The region added 182,000 square feet for a total availability rate of 17.5 percent.
This entry was posted
on Monday, August 6th, 2007 at 6:27 pm by Jerry Gleeson.
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