Poe & Cronk Real Estate Group released the results of its 29th Annual Office Market Survey today, reporting a 5% reduction in overall Roanoke office occupancy rates in 2015. Over the preceding decade, overall occupancy in the Roanoke market averaged 87% as compared to the 81% in the newly released report.
According to Dennis Cronk, President/CEO of Poe & Cronk, “Occupancy rates in the Roanoke Valley have remained strong for many years largely due to the limited supply of new construction and the conversion of older office buildings into residential apartments. The limited supply of new product created a challenge for tenants to match their needs with the existing market. For this reason, we welcome the higher quality of available office space.â€
In 2015, the announcements by Allstate Insurance and Norfolk Southern increased the net available office space by nearly 275,000 SF. Allstate relocated its employees to a new 75,000 SF office building in northern Roanoke County and the existing 48,000 SF Stone Printing Building adjacent to the Hotel Roanoke in the CBD. The Norfolk Southern and Allstate office buildings represent about 7% of the total Roanoke office market. The newly occupied Allstate building, along with new leases at
The Park at Valleypointe and Valley Court over the past year, contributed to the 5% rise in occupancy in the Northern Suburban Business District.
“We are seeing increased activity by tenants in all three office districts. Should this activity persist, office occupancy will increase in the future,†said Dennis Cronkâ€.
Poe & Cronk developed Roanoke’s original office market survey in 1987 and has conducted it annually using consistent criteria and methods of reporting. This year’s survey incorporates data covering more than 100 non-governmental office buildings measuring 10,000 square feet or more.
