By Eric Fetters
Herald Writer
LYNNWOOD – The office vacancy rate remains high in Snohomish County, which may delay development in the area’s newest office park until next year.
The exterior of the first building is up at Opus Northpointe business park, located at 164th Street SW and I-5 in Lynnwood. That 66,000-square-foot office structure, slated to be done by late October, already has signed Cypress Semiconductor as a tenant.
But other buildings planned for Opus Northpointe are still in search of occupants.
“We’ve gotten inquiries from potential users, but haven’t landed any yet,” said Mike Ruhl, director of real estate for Opus Northwest LLC, the Bellevue company developing the project.
Ruhl said a building permit for the project’s second office structure has been issued, but construction will probably not start this year. If completed as planned, Opus Northpointe could eventually contain 700,000 square feet of office space.
It could be a while until all that space is in demand again, according to the latest surveys by local commercial property firms .
According to CB Richard Ellis, the county’s vacancy rate topped 20 percent during the first quarter, with the region’s overall rate at 14.2 percent.
The numbers for specific areas of the county are even higher, according to Colliers. It puts the office vacancy rate for Lynnwood at almost 37 percent, with south Everett at 28 percent and Mill Creek at 25 percent. Rates in Everett and Edmonds, which both have more limited office space inventories, are in the single digits.
Premium Class A office space has been the hardest to fill. In Lynnwood, Colliers estimates nearly 56 percent of Class A space is vacant – only 1 point better than in the fourth quarter of 2001.
There are signs that the Snohomish County market is coming back a little, said Ric Brandt, senior associate for CB Richard Ellis.
“We are seeing a lot more activity, with people looking around at space here, although no one big has signed yet,” he said.
Brandt said a few businesses in need of at least 60,000 square feet have been looking around south Snohomish County. He also expects a new large lease to be announced soon for Bothell’s Canyon Park area.
Much of the vacant office space in Lynnwood, he points out, is concentrated in two locations: the Quadrant I-5 Center, with 236,412 square feet; and the recently completed Cosmos Lynnwood Center, which has about 178,000 square feet available.
The Quadrant I-5 Center was left empty by the Boeing Co. last year. Washington Mutual has signed a lease for one of the buildings, but that still leaves two completely empty structures there.
The surplus of space has brought down the asking rate for Class A office space to the range of $21 to $22 per square foot in Lynnwood and surrounding areas.
But rates are down in the entire region. The Eastside’s asking rate is $25 to $26 and downtown Seattle’s is averaging $28, compared to $37-plus a year ago. Those price drops and plenty of empty space in those cities have made it harder for suburban Snohomish County to compete, Brandt said.
You can call Herald Writer Eric Fetters at 425-339-3453 or send e-mail to fetters@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
