San Diego’s Office Rate on Upswing

The occupancy rate for downtown San Diego office buildings--one of the lowest of any major American city--rose slightly during the third quarter, according to the latest office vacancy survey by the San Diego office of Coldwell Banker Commercial Real Estate Services.

The occupancy rate was 77.44%, compared with 77.03% during the previous three-month period. The survey covered 33 buildings with a total of 6,143,467 net rental square feet. Of this total, 1,447,145 square feet were vacant.

Coldwell Banker’s Kraig Kristofferson said that he expects the occupancy rate to climb in the near future “as the opening of Horton Plaza attracts more and more people, many of them business people, downtown.”

Jack Bentley, a leasing specialist with Coldwell Banker, is “cautiously optimistic” about the future of downtown office leasing. He noted that many businesses that moved to the suburbs a few years ago now are considering a return to the city’s core in the light of its rejuvenation.