Office occupancy rate climbs

A commercial real estate survey has found that the current office occupancy rate in the Roanoke Valley has risen to 87 percent.

The rate previously was 84 percent, according to the 32nd Annual Office Market Survey released by the Roanoke-based Poe & Cronk Real Estate Group.

“This is the strongest increase we've seen in several years and is due largely to the continually improving local economy, extremely low unemployment, increasing demand for space, and the successful leasing of several new and existing projects throughout the valley, especially in the Southern Suburban District,” Matt Huff, Poe & Cronk’s executive vice president and COO, said in a statement.

The southern suburban office submarket saw its occupancy rate jump from 80 to 86 percent this year as the result of leasing activity in smaller available office spaces.

The Carilion Riverside expansions are now fully occupied with more new construction is scheduled for completion. The former Allstate Building also added almost 30,000 square feet of newly occupied space.

The Downtown Roanoke occupancy rate remained at 88 percent. Poe & Cronk said Central Business District (CBD) was the first submarket to show signs of recovery during the last two years.

In 2016, the CBD occupancy rate was at 83 percent. But since then, the revitalization of downtown, repositioning of several empty office buildings, and strong demand from employers looking to move back downtown has stabilized the CBD office market, the real estate firm said. The Wells Fargo Tower is now 100 percent occupied.

The Northern Business District saw its office occupancy rate increase from 85 to 88 percent.

Poe & Cronk began its annual office market survey in 1987, the survey includes data from more than 100 nongovernmental office buildings with 10,000 square feet or more.