By Paul Post<\/p>\n
\u201cSaratoga is a uniquely vibrant county in upstate New York There\u2019s just no other way to look at it.\u201d<\/p>\n
That, in a few words, sums up the continued strong demand for Saratoga County office space as firms large and small are attracted to the area\u2019s healthy business climate and attractive quality of life that helps bring top-level talent to the region.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just released our first half report,\u201d said Associated Broker Tom Savino, of CBRE Upstate. \u201cFirms want to have a presence in downtown Saratoga because they can use it as a recruiting tool for people from outside the area. In Clifton Park we\u2019re back to pre-COVID levels in terms of activity. There was a fair amount of empty space, some of which was left behind by healthcare consolidation. Then a large building was donated to the school district, which took that off the market. \u201cTenants coming back had to go somewhere, so space that had been empty for a while is now beginning to fill up,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s across the board. I\u2019ve dealt with attorneys, engineering firms, a variety of things. There\u2019s no specific industry that gobbles up the space.\u201d<\/p>\n
Demand is strong from both existing firms seeking to expand and small start-ups in search of a place to launch and grow their business.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a combination of both,\u201d Savino said.<\/p>\n
CBRE is the largest commercial brokerage firm in the country.<\/p>\n
In 1998 Robert Cohn Associates, the largest commercial brokerage firm in the Capital District market at the time, became a partner office of CBRE.<\/p>\n
Ownership remained local.<\/p>\n
In April 2023 CBRE-Albany combined with the CBRE offices in Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse to become one entity, CBRE Upstate. It handles sales and leasing for all types of commercial real estate from industrial to multi-family.<\/p>\n
The new report says Saratoga Springs has the lowest office space vacancy of any city in the Greater Capital Region including Glens Falls, Albany, Schenectady and Troy. And it by far continues to demand the highest lease rate, about $27 per square foot, despite a nearly $2-per-square foot decline from the first half of 2023.<\/p>\n
<\/span><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span>Albany\u2019s lease rate ($21) is second highest while Glens Falls (approximately $17.50) is the area\u2019s lowest.<\/p>\n Total Capital Region market inventory increased for the first time since 2021 due to both an increase in new construction and a decrease in the number of buildings that were removed from inventory for conversion, the report says.<\/p>\n But although new construction had a large impact on the report\u2019s findings, the pipeline of future construction is limited. Planned and ongoing construction includes a 45,000-square-foot expansion for the Prime Group at 395 Broadway in Saratoga Springs.<\/p>\n Prime Group acquired the building, previously occupied by Fingerpaint marketing agency (Barnes & Noble before that) last year. The expansion replaces previous plans for ground-up construction of a 160,000-square-foot, mixed-use building at 269 Broadway.<\/p>\n Proposed projects that may hit the construction pipeline include a 116,000-square-foot medical center in Wilton, and a 60,000-square-foot building in Saratoga Springs, the report says.<\/p>\n Saratoga County\u2019s low office space vacancy rate is also in stark contrast to the nationwide trend, which increased by 10 basis points to 19.1 percent during this year\u2019s second quarter.<\/p>\n Savino cited recent history at Congress Park Centre (333 Broadway), which CBRE represents, as an example of the strong demand for office space in Saratoga Springs.<\/p>\n In October 2017, the financial services firm, Ayco, owned by Goldman Sachs, announced that it would move its headquarters from the Spa City to a new 150,000-square-foot building in Latham.<\/p>\n The single-floor space it vacated had 85,000 square feet.<\/p>\n \u201cSpaces of that size were relatively rare in the city,\u201d Savino said. \u201cWe have since leased almost all of it even through COVID — most of the tenants are financial services type companies — so it\u2019s a sign of the vibrancy of downtown Saratoga.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Paul Post \u201cSaratoga is a uniquely vibrant county in upstate New York There\u2019s just no other way to look at it.\u201d That, in a few words, sums up the continued strong demand for Saratoga County office space as firms large and small are attracted to the area\u2019s healthy business climate and attractive quality of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commercial-residential-real-estate"],"yoast_head":"\r\n