By Richard Meder, Colliers While office markets across the country have experienced a slow climb back to normalcy following COVID-19-related restrictions, the Dayton office market has found its strength in the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB). Though the Dayton office market around WPAFB experienced similar ebbs and flows as that of the rest of the country during the pandemic, business never stopped. For some in other markets, the lasting effects of this disruption to the office market remain unknown. Business leaders must decide whether to implement a remote work lifestyle into their employee regimen or make a push to get back to normal office life — for some companies it is considered a hybrid approach. For the tenants in the WPAFB submarket, however, there was never question. While many office tenants vacated their spaces out of uncertainty, defense contractors cautiously occupying office spaces at the WPAFB submarket almost singlehandedly helped Dayton remain upright during the pandemic. With the submarket almost entirely consisting of defense contractors, this type of defense contracting work was not allowed to stop with the rest of the world. Having to adhere to both local and federal guidelines, decision-making among defense contractors certainly slowed, but it never …
