Buzz Around Spec Office Space Starts to Swirl

VOL. 10 | NO. 7 | Saturday, March 01, 2014

International Paper Co.s new office tower in East Memphis is under construction now, but its been four years since the last speculative office building opened its doors in Memphis.

Its been four years since the last speculative office building the Triad Centre III building from Highwoods Properties on Poplar Avenue opened its doors in Memphis.

(Memphis News File/Lance Murphey)

That was the Triad Centre III building from Highwoods Properties, which closely followed the arrival of the Boyle Development Co. building at 999 Shady Grove Road.

With vacancy rates for Class A space in the East Memphis office submarket declining steadily could Memphis see the announcement of a new speculative office building in 2014?

Several commercial real estate professionals think that prospect is possible, although unlikely.

For one, developers would need to achieve a significant amount of preleasing before they could break ground.

For a developer to announce a new project they are going to need to prelease approximately 50 percent or greater, said Ron Riley of Colliers International Memphis.

The Memphis office market, powered by an unusually strong fourth quarter, ended 2013 with positive net absorption of 40,558 square feet, according to CB Richard Ellis Memphis.

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Buzz Around Spec Office Space Starts to Swirl