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1st Quarter 2023 Tampa Bay Office Market Report and Q2 Forecast

white and blue concrete building under blue sky during daytime

Important Highlights:

Tampa Bay:

Tampa Bay’s commercial real estate market is thriving, with a strong demand for office space, particularly in the downtown area. The growing population and job market in Tampa have contributed to the demand for office space, and many companies have relocated to the area in recent years. According to Forbes Tampa is ranked the number one city for small businesses and the number two emerging tech hub. 

  • Pinellas County
    • Industrial vacancy rate is 3.2%
    • $12.62 SF NNN flex/warehouse
    • $7.86 SF NN warehouse distribution
    • 258,068 SF under construction
  • Hillsborough County
    • Industrial vacancy rate is 5.2%
    • $13.98 SF NNN flex/warehouse is $13.98 SF
    • $7.04 SF NNN for warehouse distribution
    • 2,772,283 SF under construction

Office Market:

  • $35.40 PSF Class A Average
  • The direct asking rents for Class A Buildings. up Approx. 3.9% year-over-year
  • Vacancy rate got Class A Buildings is Approx. 10%
  • Turn-key spec office spaces that are move-in ready for companies with pressing deadlines continue to be in demand who do not have the time to wait for permitting and construction timelines. 

Let’s Talk Rent Numbers:

Submarket Overall Average Asking Rent-All Classes Overall Asking Rent Class A
Westshore $34.05 Sq. Ft.  $38.51 Sq. Ft.
Downtown Tampa $29.19 Sq. Ft. $31.95 Sq. Ft.
Northwest Tampa $27.65 Sq. Ft. $27.79 Sq. Ft.
South Tampa $21.00 Sq. Ft. N/A
I-75 Corridor $26.78 Sq. Ft. $26.99 Sq. Ft.
Downtown St. Petersburg $32.19 Sq. Ft. $31.55 Sq. Ft.

Building Highlights: 

  • Mixed-use developments continue to be at the forefront of new construction.
  • “Miami-based Related Group purchased 6 acres on the west bank of the Hillsborough River — what will become the Riverfront district. 
  • Ybor City developer Darryl Shaw is assembling roughly 25 acres of closely watched waterfront land along the Ybor Channel.
  • Strategic Property Partners, the developer of Water Street Tampa, has demolished the former Ardent Mills flour plant between the Channel district and downtown Tampa to make way for Water Street’s second phase.” Read more of the upcoming developments here. 

2023 2nd Quarter Forecast:

  • To sustain teamwork, camaraderie, and creative collisions, companies may adopt flexible schedules based on personnel who operate in the same teams or departments. 
  • Tampa Bay will continue to see out-of-state businesses migrate and expand to the area, and demand for under 5,000 SF office space could remain high.
  • The primary concern was the blurring of boundaries between home and work. As a consequence, throughout 2022, there was a gradual rise in the number of professionals opting for a partial return to the office, which persisted consistently month after month.

What does this mean for Tenants?

  • Tenants should evaluate what is the best long-term solution for their company, considering the well-being of the company and the possibility of a hybrid, remote, or in-office job. While vacancy rates in Tampa remain low, landlords may offer rent abatement and increased Tenant Improvement allowances due to high construction costs.
  • Tenants who delay office space matters until the last minute will find themselves at a disadvantage, with few alternatives and minimal, if any, leverage for negotiating based on construction timelines and competing availability.

What does this mean for Landlords?

  • Landlords must consider increasing Tenant Improvement allowances for construction expenses to provide basic building standards and Tenant-specific finishing to compete for the right Tenants.
  • Profit margins may be impacted by inflation, but increased rents and 3-4% annual increases can aid in the impact of inflation. Providing turn-key spec office spaces that are move-in ready for companies with pressing deadlines can help capture tenants.
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Why Your Neighbors In Your Office Building are Important

What are the different types of office spaces? - Avanta Business Centre

 

The reality is your office neighbors have almost the same impact as the next-store neighbors of your house or apartment. If you are miserable in your office because your office neighbors are too loud, it’s going to be much harder to want to be in your office and get work done. If you are looking for a quiet, peaceful, and professional setting with neighbors who are the same, vice versa. You have to find office neighbors that share the same values as you.

 

Here Are Two Recommendations to Consider When Evaluating an Office Building:

1.Evaluate the Existing Tenants

Take a look at the directory to evaluate what kind of industries of the neighboring Tenants. Are any of the Tenants in the building competing in your industry? Would any of the Tenants be good neighbors to have to refer business back and forth? Check out the parking lot to determine based on the building occupancy, if there is plenty of parking available for the available office space. Some could be over-parking and negatively impact your companies’ experience.

 

2. Are Tenants Considerate in Common Areas

Cleaning after yourself when using the Tenant’s common areas including lounge, conference room and bathroom is a common courtesy and is important to consider when you share common spaces with others. Although majority of office buildings have janitorial services 3-5 times a week, janitorial services typically come in the evening. 

 

A few others include: 

  • Utilizing the smoking areas.
  • Proper hygiene.
  • Having professional behavior is a key component in Tenant common areas. Improper discussions, practical jokes and so on will soon make the workplace unpleasant. 

 

Both of these impact the type of experience your team has in the office building and thus playing a role in their experience at the workplace while your company calls that building home for the next 5+ years.





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Why the Hybrid Work Model is Important 

When the whole globe went into lockdown in 2020, many of us were forced to test out alternative employment arrangements. The majority of businesses took advantage of this as a chance to review their workplace cultures. The traditional full-time office model may soon be replaced by the hybrid model, which will fundamentally alter how businesses operate and interact with their clients, workers, and suppliers. This being said there are many benefits of the hybrid work model. According to Forbes, 83% of 9,326 workers surveyed say they prefer a hybrid model, in which they can work remotely at least 25% of the time.

 

  • A Rise in Productivity 

With more freedom to play to their strengths, people can work more productively under a hybrid approach. Teams may achieve a solid mix of creativity and cooperation by promoting a culture that sees remote work as a beneficial option for finishing deep-focus projects in the office. Giving employees the option to work where and when they are most productive might benefit those who require quiet, alone environments to concentrate. According to PWC, new Research shows that as many companies have boosted workforce productivity and performance during the pandemic

 

  • More Possibilities For Lifelong Learning 

The ability for employees to engage in continual learning outside of the busyness of their typical work environment is another significant and perhaps underappreciated feature of a mixed work arrangement. This implies that if they are working from their office for a portion of the workweek, they may work from home for the remaining time on personal development goals to improve their job performance and career prospects. Especially for those with long commutes, removing the community to and from the office can free up time for personal development and hobbies which would positively impact work performance. 

 

  • Improved Relationships & Collaboration 

Unlike remote work, hybrid work allows for face-to-face contact and cooperation, which promotes healthy team-building and, as a result, improves employee collaboration. Employees will be able to interact and build deeper working connections as a result of being given the opportunity to speak and socialize in person. This will also enhance departmental, team, and workgroup collaboration. This mainly can be true in our present environment, where many employees communicate and collaborate with their coworkers via screens rather than in person. Every face-to-face communication, which might only take place during scheduled meetings when working remotely, might create a chance for mentoring, knowledge sharing, or making crucial business connections.



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General Liability and Content Insurance When Leasing Office Space

Closeup of a man's hand signing a document.

Landlords do maintain building insurance but will require Tenants who are leasing office space to have General Liability and Content Insurance with a particular dollar amount of coverage in a policy including but not limited to an umbrella and per occurrence. Even just across the Tampa Bay office space market, Landlords can require a vehicle [whether the company owns the vehicles or not] and fire insurance, let’s focus on the most common which is General Liability and Content Insurance. 

 

What Is the Definition of General Liability Insurance? 

  • General liability insurance can assist cover medical bills and attorney fees incurred as a consequence of physical injuries and property damage for which your firm may be held legally liable. In most cases, General Liability Insurance plans will protect both you and your business from claims involving personal harm and property damage originating from your activities, services, or goods. It may also protect you if you are held accountable for your landlord’s property damage.

 

  • By paying for legal fees, financial losses, or settlements up to the policy’s maximum for covered claims, general liability insurance protects the assets of your company. Despite your best efforts, accidents might nevertheless occur in the course of business. For example, a client stumbles on a damp floor and is wounded. Your product fails and causes harm to a customer’s property. Your commercial is allegedly violating the copyright of a rival. These are just a few of the mishaps that might lead to claims and lawsuits against your company. 

 

General Liability Policies often include: 

  • Premises liability insurance protects you against the costs of injuries that occur on your company’s premises.  
  • Product liability insurance protects you from the consequences of property damage and personal injury.
  • Injury brought on by your services or products to individuals. 
  • Coverage for personal and advertising harm liability provides a defense against the costs associated with problems that result from your work, such as defamation, libel, unlawful eviction, copyright infringement, and more.

 

What Is Content Insurance?

Business contents insurance allows organizations to replace or repair their items if they are destroyed. However, most insurance plans refer to it as personal property coverage. If your personal things are stolen or destroyed by a covered risk, such as a fire, contents insurance can help pay to replace or restore them. Office contents and equipment insurance is essential for every business, protecting computers, laptops, or more advanced gear, papers, and cash which content insurance covers.

During the negotiation process of your lease, you will want to send the insurance requirements you receive from your Landlord to your insurance agent who can provide the necessary Certificate of Insurance or COI. COI’s are required to be submitted to the Landlord prior to a Tenant’s occupancy.



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Company Culture is Not Built Virtually

Company culture is not built virtually

I believe there will be long-term impacts on company culture, especially for the younger generation moving into the workforce. The newer generations are now becoming the majority in the workplace. Even if it has been some time, can you still recall running into coworkers in the corridor and catching up with them about weekend plans or a significant project you were working on? Do you have any memories of being in the right location at the right moment, providing a person with the knowledge they were lacking, or inviting a colleague to a lunch meeting or event they could benefit from? Like many others, you might not have appreciated the significance of these discussions until you started working from home. Over 50 studies have been conducted this year by Microsoft teams to investigate how the nature of work has evolved since early 2020. This endeavor includes a study of billions of productivity signals such as emails, meetings, chats, and postings across Microsoft and LinkedIn’s user bases. Additionally, a poll of over 30,000 persons who were located in 31 different nations is included. Basically,  this study found that employees feel more connected to their colleagues in the office and completely disconnected when working virtually. 

 

  • Difficulty in Building Genuine Relationships with Colleagues

Collaboration, creative problem-solving, mentorship, and team morale is more challenging when each requires a Microsoft Teams or Zoom invite to do so. According to a study done by Stanford 67% of workers are distracted during virtual meetings. · 47% of people prefer in-person meetings.

 

  • Frequent Interruptions and Unsupervised Performance 

Self-regulation and focus can be difficult for most without having the accountability of your team around you like in an office. 55% of workers admit to checking their email during virtual meetings according to a study done by Standford. 

 

  • Lack of Motivation When There’s No Comradery

When you are surrounded by people who share the same vision and purpose it is the comradery that keeps each of us motivated and feeling supported when you are having an off day or dealing with a difficult project/situation.