What area is your expertise?
Office market in the Kansas City metropolitan area.
What trends do you see presently in office development in your area?
Little new development. Some mixed-use projects in the works.
Who are the active office developers in your area?
Local developers.
Please name one or two significant office developments in your area. What impact will these projects have on the market?
Park Place – Mixed-use suburban office project including retail, residential, office and hotels. Located in suburban Kansas City (Leawood, Kan.)
Plaza West – mixed-use office, retail, hotel project on Country Club Plaza. Will be corporate headquarters for local advertising firm Bernstein Rein.
Where is the majority of development taking place? Why is this area doing well?
Suburban Kansas City
What area do you expect to be the next big development market? Why?
Suburban Kansas City
What areas are doing well in terms of office leasing? Which areas are struggling with office leasing?
Suburban Kansas City and Country Club Plaza do well. Downtown Kansas City has struggled but with a new entertainment district along with opening of Sprint Center, it is poised to take off.
Please give a measure of office vacancy rates. Please give a measure of available sublease space.
Overall vacancy rates metro-wide are in the 11 percent range.
What impact do current interest rates have on the office market? What predictions do you have for interest rates and their effect on the office market in the next year?
Very little new projects being announced. Very high construction costs will curtail new projects until economy turns around.
What is the status of job growth/(un)employment rates and what bearing will it have on the office market?
Some job growth is occurring in the life sciences area, which should boost office market.
Is there any type of office tenant absorbing a majority of space? What industries do you expect to expand in the next year to absorb a great deal of office space? What areas will be affected?
Life sciences seem to be the driver.
Submitted by David Zimmer, SIOR, president with the Kansas City, Mo., office of ONCOR International. Posted 7-08-08.