WEST PALM BEACH, FL-Progressive Casualty Insurance Co. inked a new lease at EcoPlex at CentrePark West. The insurer will relocate from its nearby location at 1641 Worthington Road to take up 12,381-square feet. The downsizing deal means more negative absorption for West Palm Beach’s office market.

Cushman & Wakefield brokerage professionals John Marshall, Alan Kleber, Matthew Cheezem, Mark Pateman and John Criddle represented Progressive Casualty Insurance in its site search and in lease negotiations with the building’s owner, Ecoplex Partners. Bo Paty, director of leasing and sales at West Palm Beach-based Navarro Lowrey Properties represented Ecoplex Partners on the five-year lease.

“In this economy, everybody, including publicly-traded institutions, is concerned about occupancy costs,” Pateman, associate director at Cushman & Wakefield in West Palm Beach, tells GlobeSt.com. “If companies are in 19,000 feet and they can do with 12,300 feet they are going to find a way to move to 12,300 feet without living through construction.”

Built in 2008, EcoPlex at Centrepark West is a 100,000-square-foot office building located within the Centrepark Office District. EcoPlex is located close to I-95 and the Florida Turnpike, and is minutes from downtown West Palm Beach, CityPlace, the Palm Beach County Convention Center, and the Palm Beach International Airport.
The building was the first in West Palm Beach to receive LEED Gold certification from the United States Green Building Council for its core and shell.

“While many landlords are just charging tenants on less square footage temporarily, Progressive took advantage of the market to right-size to a LEED Gold building and get the correct square footage with savings,” Pateman says. “They also have the scalability to adjust to growth in the future.”

EcoPlex has high ceilings and a column-free floor plate. That means Progressive can quickly expand to meet its needs as the company grows, or further contract if necessary. Pateman believes the future of office buildings is in LEED-certified structures with open plans that allow tenants to adjust to scale quickly with limited expense on the landlord or tenant side.

“The Progressive deal is symptomatic of the marketplace,” Edward Kearney, managing director of Sperry Van Ness/Kearney Commercial Group, tells GlobeSt.com. “We are seeing a lot of downsizing on the office and industrial side. A year ago, people were wondering if they are going to survive. Now they know they are going to survive but they aren’t sure how good business is going to be over the next three to five years so they are looking for ways to cut office costs.”

EcoPlex got a second win this month. Esri is also relocating its West Palm Beach offices to the green building. Esri leased 2,383 square feet for five years. Mike Crissy with Jones Lang LaSalle represented Esri. Navarro’s Rick Abedon and Paty represented the EcoPlex.

Instant Insights /

Progressive Right-Sizes with Green Building Lease

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