Quarterly leasing activity for Fairfield County”™s office market totaled 484,000 square feet during the first quarter of this year, according to new data published by CBRE.
The first quarter”™s leasing level was up by 8% from the previous quarter and was 4% ahead of the five-year average. However, year-to-date leasing activity was down by 11% from the same period in 2022.
Within the region”™s submarkets, the Stamford Central Business District (CBD) led the county with 139,000 square feet, an accomplishment fueled primarily by the largest single transaction during the first quarter ”“ ICON International”™s two-floor lease at 107 Elm St. that encompassed nearly 61,000 square feet. The ICON International transaction accounted for more than 40% of the Stamford CBD”™s leasing activity during the first quarter.
The next two largest transactions during the quarter were in the Fairfield East submarket: Transpac”™s 41,000-square-foot lease at 120 Corporate Drive in Trumbull and Butler America”™s 32,437-square-foot lease renewal at 2 Trap Falls Road in Shelton. CBRE noted that Fairfield East accounted for 124,000 square feet of leasing activity in the quarter, an 88% spike from the previous quarter and 107% above the five-year quarterly average.
Rounding out the top five transactions were a pair of deals in Greenwich: First Republic Bank”™s 24,061-square-foot lease at 55 Railroad Ave. in the Greenwich CBD and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide”™s 24,027-square-foot lease renewal at 51 Weaver St. in the non-CBD area of the town. The Greenwich CBD saw a total of 52,000 square feet of leasing activity in the quarter, up 84% from the previous quarter and 18% above the five-year quarterly average. The non-CBD sector within Greenwich totaled 50,000 square feet, up 128% from the previous quarter and 86% above the five-year quarterly average. The Greenwich non-CBD benefited from Greenwich Hospital”™s 16,000-square-foot expansion at 500 West Putnam Ave.
In comparison, Central Fairfield”™s generated 100,000 square feet in leasing transactions, down 23% from the previous quarter but 10% above the five-year average. Northern Fairfield trailed the submarkets, with a relatively scant 7,000 square feet of activity for the quarter.
The availability rate for Fairfield County”™s office market in the first quarter totaled 273,484 square feet, or 26.7%, a 60 basis points (bps) drop from the previous quarter and 10 bps higher than one year ago.
Three of the seven Fairfield County submarkets reported positive absorption during the quarter: Greenwich CBD (7,000 square feet, or 7%), Greenwich non-CBD (62,000 square feet, or 21%) and Central Fairfield (372,000 square feet, or 28.8% ”“ the lowest level since the second quarter of 2020).
Fairfield County”™s asking rent in the first quarter was $36.05, a 2% drop from the previous quarter and 5% higher than the first quarter of 2022. CBRE attributed the quarter-over-quarter dip to the removal of higher-priced office space Greenwich and Wilton.
Fairfield East saw a 6% slide in average rents to $19.08 per square foot ”“ this decline was mostly attributed to repricing across properties along Trumbull”™s Merritt Boulevard. Greenwich CBD”™s average asking rent was $102.98 per square foot, marking the second consecutive quarter above the $100 level.
