Sperry Van Ness International Corporation’s (SVNIC) 2015 Market Update Reports assess the current state of the national commercial real estate market, and identify micro-trends within specific geographic regions and industries for 2015. Today we are delving into the 2015 Top Office Markets to Watch. Not the largest or the most actively contested markets, the 2015 Office Markets to Watch are each at an important juncture that presents unique opportunities for investment. Together, they reflect the diversity of trends that is driving the economy and commercial real estate performance in markets across the country.
Top Office Market to Watch: Research Triangle, NC
The Raleigh-Durham region is already home to the sprawling, 22.5 million square foot Research Triangle Park (RTP), the largest science campus of its kind in the United States. In spite of their established position, Raleigh and Durham are not resting on their laurels. Instead, they are embracing the “innovation district” concept with open arms and a renewed vigor is now permeating the Research Triangle’s office markets. RTP is vying to make itself more appealing as well, building residential and retail amenities on a 100-acre site within the science park. Longfellow Real Estate Partners, an innovation district veteran of Cambridge, Massachusetts’s Kendall Square, is trying to spearhead an ambitious 1.3 million square foot mixed-use innovation district in downtown Durham. The development of Raleigh’s Union Station, the new passenger train station to replace the currently overcrowded Amtrak hub, represents a commitment by the city to improve its urban core through heavily investing in its currently inadequate mass transit options and long-stalled commuter rail system for the Research Triangle area.
Office fundamentals strengthened in 2014, with vacancy falling by 200 basis points over the year. There is a flurry of new development throughout the region, with roughly 1.4 million square feet of urban core space under construction that should be reasonably well absorbed given the prevailing outlook for space demand.
To read more on the Research Triangle and other top office markets, download the full version of the 2015 Office Market Update report here.
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