Research Finds 50M SF of Office Space Within Walking Distance of Stations

Nineteen key MARTA stations through Atlanta’s major submarkets have a significant impact on the demand for commercial space in their immediate area, according to a new report from Cushman & Wakefield Research.

Cushman & Wakefield examined the Midtown, Downtown, Buckhead and Central Perimeter submarkets, comparing vacancy and rental rates for office space within a quarter-mile and multifamily space within a half-mile of the stations located there. Those numbers were then compared to each submarket as a whole. Here are some of the most notable findings from the report:

There is 50 million square feet of office space within a quarter-mile of these 19 MARTA stations, making the MARTA Market Atlanta’s largest office market, roughly double the size of Central Perimeter.

In almost all cases, rents were higher in the MARTA Market than in the submarket as a whole. This effect was most profound in the Central Perimeter, where office average rent per square foot was up 14.5 percent in the MARTA Market, and multifamily effective rent per unit was 20 percent higher.

While the vacancy rate change was more unpredictable due to a variety of factors, there was still positive impact more often than not. In Midtown, the multifamily vacancy rate in the MARTA Market was 33.8 percent lower than in the submarket as a whole.

“As MARTA has gained stature within Atlanta’s commercial real estate community in recent years, it’s become clear that its impact goes beyond just moving people around the city,” said Chad Koenig, Cushman & Wakefield Senior Director of Office Tenant Representation Services and the leader behind the MARTA Market Report. “We felt it was important to look at the actual data to confirm what we’ve been hearing during our discussions with prominent business leaders.”

The full MARTA Market Report can be downloaded here.

About Cushman & Wakefield

Cushman & Wakefield is a leading global real estate services firm that helps clients transform the way people work, shop, and live. Our 43,000 employees in more than 60 countries help investors and occupiers optimize the value of their real estate by combining our global perspective and deep local knowledge with an impressive platform of real estate solutions. Cushman & Wakefield is among the largest commercial real estate services firms with revenue of $5 billion across core services of agency leasing, asset services, capital markets, facility services (C&W Services), global occupier services, investment & asset management (DTZ Investors), project & development services, tenant representation, and valuation & advisory. To learn more, visit www.cushmanwakefield.com or follow @CushWake on Twitter.