Nearly a quarter of all DC office space is empty

Downtown Washington, D.C., is seeing a record amount of empty office space, according to a report.

A study by real estate firms CBRE Group and JLL said nearly a quarter of all office space in Washington is empty, according to 7News, leading to a large number of vacancies and “For Lease” ads throughout the city. Between April and June, more than half a million square feet of office space lay empty in Washington, according to the report, a record high for the city.

A 2023 forecast by Mayor Muriel Bowser’s office acknowledged an increase in empty office space and blamed the trend on the pandemic, and less than half of Washington office workers are working on-site compared to pre-pandemic levels, according to data from security firm Kastle.

“For the last two decades, Downtown has seen traditional office occupancy decrease and vacancy rates increase,” the mayor’s office said in its report. “The pandemic has only worsened these trends.”

The mayor’s report also pointed out that 42% of jobs in Washington can be done remotely, which would lead to a decrease in the need for traditional downtown building space for office work that can be done from home.

A report from earlier this year suggested a lack of workers commuting into the city is negatively affecting the city’s economic outlook.

“There is a reality that not having 200,000 to 250,000 people in the jurisdiction every day means a lot less lunches and other things,” Glen Lee, the district’s chief financial officer, told Bloomberg. “That’s real money, and it has a dampening effect on our sales tax.”

Not all buildings in downtown Washington are emptying, however. Fannie Mae reversed course on leaving the large, K Street-adjacent Midtown Center, according to WTOP. Carr Properties, the real estate firm handling Midtown Center, has also said 90% of its buildings remain leased.

Businesses such as Carr Properties are also reportedly looking into renting out office space with “spectacular views” for weddings, according to Axios, while other properties are being turned into apartments, according to WTOP.