The vacancy rate in downtown Baltimore has soared to nearly 18 percent in the past year, battered by bank consolidations and corporate moves to other parts of the city and region.
Downtown’s vacancy rate jumped climbed to nearly 18 percent, up from just 10.3 percent a year ago, according to a quarterly report by Cushman & Wakefield Inc. in Baltimore.
Much of that increase came from large chunks of vacated office space driven by Legg Mason Inc.’s move to Harbor East, consolidations by M&T Bank and Bank of America, and Zurich American Insurance Co.’s relocation to Baltimore County.
Those shifts helped improve things in Baltimore County, which saw its vacancy rate shrink from 13.1 percent to 12.2 percent in the past year. The region’s overall vacancy rate rose to 16 percent from about 14 percent last year.
The Baltimore brokerage expects the coming year will be one of transition, as vacancies rise and rental rates fall for several more quarters before the region’s government and health care industries begin to have a positive impact on leasing activity.
Source: Daniel J. Sernovitz (2010). Report: Almost one-fifth of downtown Baltimore office space vacant. Baltimore Business Journal Published Jan 08, 2010 Viewed Jan 11, 2010, http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2010/01/04/daily47.html?s=industry&i=commercial_real_estate
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