By Jennifer Maciejewski
Home to over 2,000 companies that call Atlanta their headquarters and 16 of Fortune 500 companies, metro Atlanta is one of the top cities in the United States in terms of both new corporate relocation and business growth, and it’s not done yet. Over the next 20-25 years, the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce projects that its population will increase by 2.3 million people, which will add about 1.8 million new jobs to the metro area.
Hot Markets
With so much new growth, business is booming all over metro Atlanta. “I don’t know that you can pinpoint any one location in the city and say that’s the hot location,” says John Heagy, vice president of Hines’ Southeast Regional Office. “Everybody’s got a different opinion of things. I would say there’d be an even distribution in terms of corporate relocation between Fulton, DeKalb and Cobb Counties.” And Gwinnett and Clayton’s favorable locations tend to be magnets for warehouse and distribution facilities. Plus, an increase in urban housing and infrastructure is increasing the intown demand for office space, especially in Atlantic Station, Buckhead and Allen Plaza.
As a result, metro Atlanta’s office space absorption rates are on the rise. “A noticeable surge in absorption activity during the third quarter of 2005 indicates that metro Atlanta’s office market may be moving from recovery to expansion,” says Leigh Martin, senior vice president of CB Richard Ellis. “After recording roughly 1.4 million square feet of absorption during 2004, the market appears to be on a pace to more than double last year’s net occupancy gains. Additionally, the overall volume of sublease space continues to evaporate, and average quoted rents have risen gradually throughout the year. Provided net job creation averages 60,000 to 70,000 new jobs per year (as local economists expect), office absorption could well exceed three million square feet this year and approach 4-5 million square feet during 2006.”
To read the full text of this article, please request a complimentary copy
of the Fall 2006 KNOWAtlanta. To find relocation service providers who can help
you with your move, please visit our Relocation Service Providers
or complete our Reader Service card.
|