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Nearly 90 Percent Office space tight downtown With Happy State Bank moving into the Bank of America Center, downtown occupancy rates are expected to tighten. Real estate officials downtown say they expect the bank building at 701 S. Tyler to be filled with tenants within a year. With a combination of aggressive leasing and less available space, downtown office occupancy rates are hovering around an estimated 90 percent, the highest they've been in two decades. There is about 1.7 million square feet of office space in the major office buildings downtown, said Aaron Emerson of Sperry Van Ness McCartt and Associates. He estimates that about 1.5 million square feet is under lease. Updating a two-year-old office space survey, Emerson said that 2008 could be the best year downtown Amarillo has had for a while. The occupancy rate in 2005 was about 72 percent with less than 1.5 million of the 2 million square feet taken. In 2006, 77 percent of the 1.98 million square feet of office space was occupied. In 2007, there was 1.97 million square feet of space with 79 percent occupancy. Emerson said there is now more than 1.77 million square feet of space with more than 1.59 million square feet, or 90 percent, occupied. The Amarillo National Bank Plaza I Building is at 100 percent occupancy, according to Miles Forrester, property manager with Amarillo National Bank. Its sister building, Plaza II, is about 96 percent full. Amarillo National Bank has bought the old White and Kirk Building at Sixth and Polk. Forrester said the White and Kirk Building, with 43,000 square feet, is only about 50 percent full, but that's still developing. Eventually it will house bank services, but for now, they're leasing space. In the last two years, Chase Tower with 300,000 square feet has seen its occupancy rate climb to more than 90 percent from about 60 percent only three years ago. "It went from 62 percent occupancy to 93 percent," said Emerson. "We've gotten tenants that have never been downtown," said Job Bob McCartt with Sperry Van Ness McCartt and Associates. Another building that's changing with downtown is The Paramount Building. "It went from 100 percent office space," McCartt said, "to 50 percent office and 50 percent retail." Atrium Plaza is full. The High Plains Public Radio Building at Fifth and Polk is nearly full. The Maxor Building is 100 percent leased, the Petroleum Building is at about 95 percent full and the Amarillo Building about 96 percent. The sale last week of the Bank of America Building, Emerson said, is an important piece of the puzzle. Several tenants had moved out, but Emerson said that with Happy State Bank taking the building over, it should soon be full. "That puts occupancies downtown where they haven't been in 20 years," Emerson said. One of the few laggards on the list, the Wells Fargo Center at 905 S. Fillmore, is on the block. One of the reasons for the increased occupancy rate is the number of office buildings that have been taken out of the mix. Courtyard by Marriott is taking over the historic Fisk Building and converting it from office space to a hotel, taking 75,000 square feet of office out of the market, Emerson said. The city of Amarillo is moving into the Amarillo Data Center Building, 801 S. Pierce, taking almost 80,000 square feet off the market. Several smaller office buildings in or near downtown may have space, Emerson said, but their occupancy rates would make little difference overall. E-mail
comments about this story Posted: July 24, 2008
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