ORLANDO—Central Florida’s office market spans 99 million square feet—and it’s been under significant pressure over the past three years. But CresaPartners is seeing a sea change in Central Florida.
Indeed, in the fourth quarter Orlando’s overall vacancy rate continued to decline, posting the sixth straight quarter of positive net absorption. Vacancy rates are down about 20% from three years ago, according to Cresa Orlando and it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find blocks of space spanning 15,000 square feet or more in Orlando's Central Business District.
“Last year was really solid—we did about 75 transactions last year—and it carried over into the first quarter of this year,” Craig Castor, senior vice president at Cresa Orlando, tells GlobeSt.com. “The demand ranges from law firm space downtown to call centers in the submarkets—it’s a little bit of everything.”
In the first few weeks of the first quarter, Cresa Orlando inked six deals in Central Florida, most of them in Orlando. Rogers Lovelock and Fritz leased 28,000 square feet at 4750 Broad St., CredAbility took down 10,232 square feet on Maguire Blvd. and Stream International signed for 75,000 square feet in Tampa.
The overall office vacancy rate in Orlando sits at 14%. Although Castor is not expecting to see significant expansion plans or much new-to-market activity in the election year, he is witnessing companies starting to commit to longer-term leases and taking advantage of a soft, albeit recovering market.
“Orlando and Miami are just completely different environments,” Castor says. “I think we are recovering better than any other areas of the state. The economy is definitely getting a lot healthier here in Orlando. The deal flow is pretty steady.”
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