Even as office rents remain high in Santa Monica in the first quarter of 2016, so do vacancies.
Santa Monica has about 9.3 million-square- feet of office space, but saw a 14.4 percent vacancy rate during 2016 Q1, which is a higher percentage than the general West Los Angeles market, which saw a 12 percent vacancy rate, per numbers from Transwestern.
Additionally, there was 74,40 square feet of negative absorption in the area, but rents remain higher than average prices in West LA. In Santa Monica, the average asking rate was $5.12/square foot during the first quarter, compared to the West Los Angeles average of $4.52.
During this time frame, 422,000 square feet of office space is being built. As part of this, the Pen Factory is building up more than 200,000 square feet for its adaptive reuse project.
Photo credit: John McStravick
