Office building rebound years away

It has been a few years since a new multi-tenant office building opened in the Tampa Bay area, and it may be a few more before another one comes along, according to a local commercial real estate expert.

Bruce Erhardt, executive director of land brokerage for Cushman & Wakefield in Tampa, says weak demand for office space has brought construction in that sector to a complete halt. Only one large building in the area had been under way, an 85,000-square-foot speculative project at Park Place in Clearwater, but work has stopped until market fundamentals improve.

“Other than owners/users, I don't believe there will be any multi-tenant spec development until 2012, delivering in 2013,” Erhart writes in his latest Land Market Overview. He noted that developers only like to deliver new offices when vacancy is 10% or less.