BY THE NUMBERS

DETROIT—Just a few years ago, this city's CBD seemed in dangerof becoming a ghost town. Instead, each year has seen more officebuildings renovated and filled with tenants, including many firmsthat have migrated in from the suburbs. And 2017 has been nodifferent. Newmark Knight Frank just released itsthird quarter report, and the data show demand for office space atlevels never seen in the CBD. The vacancy rate decreased 20 bps to11.2%, as just over 32,000 square feet was absorbed. Year-to-date,the CBD has posted 237,272 square feet. Since 2012, the CBD hasabsorbed just over 2.4 million square feet. The level of demand hascreated a near scarcity of functional modern office space; thevacancy rate for class A space alone is just 7.7%. Furthermore,investments in the downtown—including new sporting venues, retaildistricts and residential developments— have grown into thebillions of dollars. “Since 2012, we've seen a transformation ofthe Detroit CBD,” says Fred Liesveld, managingdirector of NKF's Detroit office. “It is great to see thatinvestments and energy continue to pour into the downtown areagoing into 2018.”