Downtown will face stiff competition from redeveloped ‘burbs

Published April 28, 2011 4:00am ET



The District’s downtown core is bouncing back after the recession, but officials say they’re concerned that its higher office rents will drive businesses to the suburbs. In its annual report released Thursday, the Downtown Business Improvement District said downtown’s rent of $60 per square foot for top-rate office space is second only to New York City’s Midtown district.

In terms of value, however, D.C. is tops. According to the report, which uses data from real estate firm Cushman and Wakefield, office sales in all of D.C. last year averaged $496 per square foot — $9 more than New York’s Midtown. But with D.C. now averaging nearly twice the cost of suburban office space, officials say there’s a downside.

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