There are 71.5 million sf of vacant office space in the Washington D.C. region. The national real estate brokerage Marcus and Millichap expects one-fifth of metro D.C.’s total office space to be empty by the end of this year. And another 1 million sq of office space could come onto this market over the next several years as businesses vacate older buildings once their leases expire.
The D.C. suburbs are fast becoming the latest American ghost towns, according to the Washington Post, as work styles have changed, preferences have shifted toward walkable commutes, and government—the area’s biggest employer—has shrunk.
The corporate campus is far from dead—just ask Google, Facebook, and other Silicon Valley companies that are building massive new headquarters and reinventing this concept to be transit-oriented and Millennial-friendly.
The D.C. suburbs are fast becoming the latest American ghost towns, as work styles have changed, preferences have shifted toward walkable commutes, and government—the area’s biggest employer—has shrunk.
The U.S. Bureau of the Census’ latest estimate for the value of private office construction put in place was up, year-to-year, 24.6% in May to $55.4 billion. Spending on public office construction in May rose 26.9% to $46.6 billion.
But in certain states, there have been mass evacuations of office spaces. In New Jersey, pharmaceutical firms that once operated sprawling suburban campuses have left millions of square feet of office space, warehouses, and labs deserted.
Empty office buildings have been a fact of life in D.C. and its suburbs for a while. By mid-2014, 11 Montgomery County, Md., office buildings totaling 2.25 million sf stood almost or totally vacant, and another nine, totaling 1.4 million sf, were “almost totally available”.
A portion of vacancies is attributable to federal government cutbacks. The Post reports that government agencies have been evacuating office and warehouse spaces in droves. They vacated 7,315 buildings with 47 million sf of office space in 2014 alone, reports Federal News Radio.
Still, office construction continues in D.C., and some developers and AEC firms view this market’s office space surfeit as an opportunity, although most of the recent activity is occurring within the city’s limits.
Skanska disclosed last week that it is investing $116 million in a new office building in D.C. The giant contractor will develop and build a new 11-story, Class-A office building with ground floor retail and four below-grade parking levels in Washington’s Capitol Riverfront submarket. The total leasable space will be about 22,000 sm (237,000 sf). Construction is scheduled to begin later this summer.
Tishman Speyer recently paid $30.5 million to acquire 2020 M Street N.W., the longtime D.C. bureau of CBS News, which it will redevelop into a modern office, newsroom and studio space for the media giant.
On July 21, Carr Properties, a local owner/operator/developer, acquired Columbia Center, a 393,815-sf, 12-story Class A office building in Washington D.C., for an undisclosed amount. In May, the Post reported that Carr Properties had raised $300 million from Alony Htez Properties and Investments, one of Israel’s largest real estate investment companies, to invest in local office buildings and development projects.
Related Stories
MFPRO+ News | Feb 15, 2024
UL Solutions launches indoor environmental quality verification designation for building construction projects
UL Solutions recently launched UL Verified Healthy Building Mark for New Construction, an indoor environmental quality verification designation for building construction projects.
Office Buildings | Feb 13, 2024
Creating thoughtful tech workplace design
It’s important for office design to be inspiring, but there are some practical principles that can be incorporated into the design of real-world tech workplaces to ensure they convey an exciting, sophisticated allure that accommodates progressive thinking and inventiveness.
Urban Planning | Feb 5, 2024
Lessons learned from 70 years of building cities
As Sasaki looks back on 70 years of practice, we’re also looking to the future of cities. While we can’t predict what will be, we do know the needs of cities are as diverse as their scale, climate, economy, governance, and culture.
Industry Research | Jan 31, 2024
ASID identifies 11 design trends coming in 2024
The Trends Outlook Report by the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) is the first of a three-part outlook series on interior design. This design trends report demonstrates the importance of connection and authenticity.
Giants 400 | Jan 29, 2024
Top 80 Office Core and Shell Engineering Firms for 2023
Jacobs, WSP, Alfa Tech Consulting Engineers, Thornton Tomasetti, and Burns & McDonnell top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest office core and shell engineering and engineering/architecture (EA) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Jan 29, 2024
Top 140 Office Core and Shell Architecture Firms for 2023
Gensler, Stantec, Page Southerland Page, Perkins&Will, and NBBJ top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest office core and shell architecture and architecture engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Jan 29, 2024
Top 80 Workplace Interior Construction Firms for 2023
STO Building Group, HITT Contracting, Clune Construction, Hensel Phelps, and JRM Construction Management top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest workplace interior and interior fitout general contractors and construction management (CM) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Jan 29, 2024
Top 50 Workplace Interior Engineering Firms for 2023
AECOM, Jacobs, Alfa Tech Consulting Engineers, Tetra Tech High Performance Buildings Group, and IMEG top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest workplace interior and interior fitout engineering and engineering/architecture (EA) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Jan 29, 2024
Top 160 Workplace Interior Architecture Firms for 2023
Gensler, Interior Architects, HOK, SmithGroup, and Perkins&Will top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest workplace interior and interior fitout architecture and architecture engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Jan 29, 2024
Top 100 Office Core and Shell Construction Firms for 2023
Turner Construction, AECOM, DPR Construction, Clark Group, and Clayco top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest office core and shell general contractors and construction management (CM) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report.