Salt Lake County has highest office vacancy rate in 6 years

SALT LAKE CITY — Vacant office space in Salt Lake County increased to a six-year high in this year's second quarter, according to the Mid-Year Market Report from CB Richard Ellis.

By the end of June, the office vacancy rate in Salt Lake County was 17.3 percent, up from 14.2 percent in mid-year 2009. At present, there is roughly 5.2 million square feet of vacant office space in Salt Lake County, up from 4.2 million square feet of vacant office space a year ago, according to a media release from CBRE.

That means landlords are offering incentives, such as lower lease rates and increased tenant improvement allowances, according to Mark Bouchard, senior managing director of CBRE's Salt Lake office.

The increase in vacant office space can be traced to tenants' downsizing their space requirements, according to Tab Cornelison, office specialist with CBRE. As leases expire, companies give up unoccupied space.

Murray and West Jordan had the highest office vacancy rate at 23.5 percent, according to the report. The Research Park region had the lowest vacancy rate at 2.9 percent. Downtown Salt Lake City's Central Business District ended the quarter with a slightly-above-average 18.5 percent vacancy rate.

— Rebecca Palmer