Doral Office Space Market Soft, So Tenants Look to Save There
As the residential real estate market continues to balance itself out, commercial office space remains a soft market in Doral.
When it comes to office space, Doral is amongst the softest markets while at the other end of the spectrum, Brickell, Coconut Grove and Aventura remain really high, said Robert Orban, principal for Cresa Miami, an occupier only commercial real estate firm.
"We're looking at Doral vacancy in the Class B market north of 26% and total vacancy in the Class A portion around 19.5%," Mr. Orban said.
Currently, there are about 53 office space vacancies of 10,000 to 50,000 square feet in 42 buildings within the city, he said.
"But what's happening there is that you're seeing a kind of waterfall or domino effect from tenants on Brickell who are paying $48 to $51 per square foot leases that are about to expire sometime this year," Mr. Orban added "Those rents are going from $49 to $85 per square foot or higher. So, there's a tremendous amount of sticker shock in that. When you see your occupancy cost increased by 55%, most businesses aren't in a position to handle that."
Companies, especially those that do a lot of business with Latin America, are starting to explore relocation options and look elsewhere for more affordable office space like Coral Gables and Doral, he said.