NORWALK, Conn. — Choyce Peterson, Inc. (www.choycepeterson.com), a full service commercial real estate brokerage firm with a specialization in tenant representation, announced the release of its 24th semi-annual Lower Fairfield County Office Space Availability Poster.
The full-size poster depicts silhouettes of 96 buildings with a total inventory of 18.2 million square feet (sf) and tracks changes in office space availability from Year-End 2020 to Year-End 2021 in larger, primarily multi-tenanted Class A office buildings in Stamford, Norwalk, Greenwich, and Westport. The unique study illustrates the absorption and give back of direct and sublease space, as well as overall availability statistics.
This report shows there was a 0.9 percentage point decrease in total availability during 2021, from 29.8% at Year-End 2020 to 28.9% at Year-End 2021. Of the 5,277,382 sf of available space: 3,738,928 sf (70.9%) is on a direct basis while 1,538,454 sf (29.1%) is sublease space.
The following refers to the poster’s “availability rate” at Year End 2020 vs. Year-End 2021 in each market surveyed:
* Stamford decreased from 34.1% to 30.4%. Of the 31 buildings surveyed, 17 experienced a decrease in available square footage, 10 had an increase and 4 were unchanged. 300 Atlantic Street, 1 Landmark Square, and One Station Place (Metro Center) combined added 145,781 sf of available space, while 290 Harbor Drive, 2200 Atlantic Street (1 Harbor Point), and 3001 Summer Street combined leased 258,461 sf. Interestingly, of the 2,913,696 sf of available space in Stamford, five buildings account for 47%, or 1,370,324 sf, of the total.
* Norwalk increased from 34.6% to 38.3%. Of the 20 buildings surveyed, 10 experienced a decrease in available square footage, 8 had an increase and 2 were unchanged. 201, 301 and 401 Merritt 7 combined added 157,689 sf of available space, and 801 Main Avenue and 20 Glover combined leased 90,914 sf. The 38.3% availability is the highest level since we started tracking these buildings ten years ago.
* Greenwich, the strongest of the four markets, decreased from 16.1% to 15.5%. Of the 25 buildings surveyed, 14 experienced a decrease in available square footage, 3 had an increase and 8 were unchanged. 100 West Putnam Avenue, 1 American Lane and 411 West Putnam Avenue combined added 196,409 sf of available space, and 1 Greenwich Plaza, 600 Steamboat combined leased 148,992 sf. A rare occurrence in the market: there is now essentially an equal amount of sublease and direct space available in Greenwich.
* Westport increased from 12.6% to 16.0%. Of the 20 buildings surveyed, 5 experienced a decrease in available square footage, 6 had an increase and 9 were unchanged. 276 Post Road W, 57 Greens Farms Road and 285 Riverside Avenue combined added 53,491 sf of available space, and 33 Riverside Avenue and 274 Riverside Avenue combined leased 25,440 sf. Two points of interest: there is almost double the amount of available sublease space versus direct, and 13 of the 20 buildings surveyed have either no space for lease or less than 5,000 sf available.
“It’s certainly an interesting office market environment where two sub-markets had a decrease in availability (Greenwich and Stamford), while two sub-markets had an increase (Norwalk and Westport),” stated John P. Hannigan, co-founder and a principal at Choyce Peterson. “There’s a balancing act going on right now: on one hand, sublease space continues to be added to the market, while at the same time Greenwich and Stamford in particular are attracting companies from outside the area who are absorbing large amounts of space. As a result, we expect the overall availability rate to remain relatively the same during the first half of 2022.”
Adam M. Cognetta, vice president at Choyce Peterson noted, “Sublease supply, fueled by a shift in workplace trends and an underlying uncertainty, is something we continue to track closely as it remains a primary contributor to overall availability. Interestingly, we’re seeing well-located assets at premium price points attract more interest and outperform the broader market.”
Hannigan added, “Now more than ever, landlords continue to be flexible in their lease negotiations and accommodating tenants’ specific needs. Transactions are even being completed with companies who have two plus years of term remaining on their leases. We at Choyce Peterson are successfully advising our clients to create an action plan on whether to renew, downsize or relocate. From there, we are negotiating very favorable financial terms on their behalf, including generous amounts of free rent, discounted base rent, and landlord funded retrofits designed exactly to a tenants’ specific layout needs.”
To view the poster, click on the following link: https://www.choycepeterson.com/officeposter
To order a copy of Choyce Peterson’s comparative Silhouette Poster, please call 203-356-9600 or email info@choycepeterson.com.
About Choyce Peterson
Choyce Peterson, Inc., a full service commercial real estate brokerage and consulting firm with offices in Norwalk, CT and Rye Brook, NY, was founded in 1997 and has negotiated millions of square feet of transactions in 42 states and Canada. The Choyce Peterson process delivers comprehensive and creative real estate solutions to ensure clients derive maximum value from their real estate decisions. https://www.choycepeterson.com/
Related link: https://www.choycepeterson.com/
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