Dramatic improvement in St. Louis office market in 2006
The vacancy rate in all classes of office space in St. Louis dropped from 16.5% in 2005 to 12.2% in the third quarter of 2006, according to Heartland Real Estate Business. Vacancy rates have declined continuously over the past two and a half years, and rental rates also have picked up. The market is driven largely by medical facilities and build-to-suit construction. Hospitals, banks, Express Scripts, Edward Jones and Anheuser Busch are some of the largest office users that are building or leasing new space.
Lease rates for Class A office buildings in St. Louis range from $19.50 per square foot downtown submarket to $28.50 per square foot in Clayton. The total vacancy rate is 12.2 percent, ranging from 4.5 percent in the Manchester/Interstate 270 area to 25.7 percent in the Olive/Lindbergh area.
