WHITE PLAINS, NY—The adaptive reuse of aging former officebuildings into healthcare facilities, laboratories and researchcenters has stimulated activity in what has otherwise been alackluster, but slightly improving office market in WestchesterCounty, according to research from ColliersInternational obtained exclusively by GlobeSt.com.

The brokerage firm notes that even with office rents essentiallyflat, the Westchester County office market did see positiveabsorption for the first time in a year in the third quarter, andwhile current job growth is not strong enough to spark afull-fledged office market rebound, the outlook for leasingvelocity is “cautiously positive.”

“There is real strength in the local Westchester economy, fueledin particular by the healthcare sector, but also with improvedactivity in energy, high tech, and education,” says AlGutierrez, executive managing director of ColliersInternational in Stamford, CT. “The overall job growth is positivefor the county, and there has been increased leasing velocity inthe office market. But competition from Fairfield County and NewJersey and densification by occupiers are keeping office activityin check.”