Two somewhat related articles in the Huntsville Times today confirm that the number of jobs and the office market are growing in the area. Office space in the area expanded by nearly 2 million in 2006-2007, much of that growth occurring in Research Park. Several buildings are under construction in the park currently, including a 6-story office building at Bridge Street Town Centre and the second building of four planned on Northrop Grumman's new campus. In downtown, the largest office project planned is part of the Constellation development, which is now expected to be underway in August. The overall occupancy rate for the Huntsville market is 94%. Most cities with occupancy rates above 90% are considered to have "healthy" office markets.
In jobs, the 10,000 private jobs that are expected to follow the BRAC moves could be a "conservative" estimate, and the real number could turn out to be closer to 20,000. This is in addition to the 4,700 military jobs expected to come here by 2011, most from Northern Virginia. Since a majority of the current jobholders won't move to Huntsville, government and military leaders are marketing the city in technology "hotspots" such as Boston and San Jose, and are holding job fairs in cities like Atlanta and Cleveland.
Huntsville Times article: Cummings Park growth expanding
Huntsville Times article: Private jobs to soar because of BRAC
No comments:
Post a Comment