If the demand for flex space is a barometer of the local economy?s future, fasten your seat belts.
Small- and medium-size businesses are leasing much of the available flex space in Anne Arundel County, and the demand for flex and office space should soon spike in northeast Baltimore County, said Jerry Wit, vice president of marketing and leasing for St. John Properties Inc., a Woodlawn-based developer.
“The Anne Arundel County flex market is red-hot,” Wit said.
Flex spaces are one-story buildings with loading docks that rent for 20 percent to 30 percent less than conventional office space.
St. John Properties, with more than 1 million square feet of flex space, has already leased 98 percent of its available space in Anne Arundel.
“Every time we put flex space on the market, they are leased,” Wit said.
Wit said companies are no longer haggling over price but are focusing solely on how soon they can occupy the space.
Wit acknowledges that the military realignment affecting Fort Meade, which could bring thousands of new jobs in the BWI Corridor, may create even more demand, but he also fears it could create a commercial development frenzy.
“There could be overbuilding,” Wit said.
The demand for flex space in Anne Arundel comes as no surprise to Aaron Greenfield, president and CEO of the Anne Arundel County Economic Development Corp.
“Businesses have an increased interest in the defense industry,” Greenfield said.
Meanwhile, Wit says he expects another surge in demand for flex andoffice space when the extension of Route 43 near White Marsh is completed in 2007.
Along its route are 600 acres of prime land, the largest piece of undeveloped property along Interstate 95 between Richmond and Philadelphia, with the potential of attracting 15,000 high-paying jobs during the next 15 to 20 years, according to Baltimore County?s Department of Economic Development.
“We have already built four flex buildings there for a total of 200,000 square feet,” Wit said. “We?re just waiting for the road to open.”
The extension will shorten the driving distance from White Marsh to Middle River, presently 30 minutes, to about 10 minutes.
Of the $60 million needed to fund the extension of Route 43, the state contributed $45.5 million and the county $14.5 million, and $4.5 million has come from A.V. Williams Trust, the largest owner of the undeveloped property bordering the new road.
