Downtown Atlanta Office Vacancy Rate Hits 30% as Population Climbs
Downtown leaders reported the vacancy figure at a gathering this week while the resident count has risen 45% since 2010.
By Matthew Turner ·
About 30% of the office buildings in downtown Atlanta sit empty, a figure downtown leaders presented at a Downtown Day gathering of business and civic figures. Over the same span, the number of people living in downtown has grown 45% since 2010.
A.J. Robinson, president of Downtown Atlanta Inc., characterized the pattern as a shift in how density is distributed. "We're in this rebalancing, I guess, of the density of people, and that's going to evolve as we move on," Robinson said. He added that office rates downtown run at half the level seen on the Beltline or in Midtown. "Our rates are half of what something on the Beltline or in Midtown is, but everybody is paying the higher rates," Robinson said. "At some point, value comes into play."
Georgia State University ranks among the largest tenants downtown. President Brian Blake reported the university has 54,000 students, its largest enrollment to date. Blake said the school has begun work on a campus park, a research center and the relocation of baseball games downtown. "GSU is not GSU without downtown," Blake said. "It's a reflection of who we are. I think we saw that during FIFA World Cup," Robinson said, citing the crowds drawn downtown for games and watch parties. Development work at Centennial Yards and South Downtown is set to follow.
Robinson will step down in the coming days. Kyle Waide, CEO and president of the Atlanta Community Food Bank, takes over on Dec. 1.
Source: Atlanta News First · original report published
