Count Lexington, Ken., as another Midwest market that saw a solid, but not spectacular, year in 2014.
That’s the takeaway from the year-end commercial real estate report released by Lexington’s NAI Isaac.
Like many markets across the Midwest, Lexington saw increased commercial real estate activity throughout 2014. But also like many Midwest markets, 2014 hardly qualified as a boom year, with vacancies inching up in some submarkets and sectors.
Still, the overall news was good. NAI Isaac officials predict that real estate sales and leases will increase at a faster pace in 2015.
Here are some of the key facts from NAI Isaac’s report:
Retail vacancies jumped to 4.87 percent during 2014. That’s a six-month increase of 2.35 percent.
Suburban office vacancy rates rose to 16.21 percent, a six-month increase of 7.25 percent.
The CBD office vacancy rate, though, fell to 14.61 percent, a decrease of 5.22 percent during the last six months.
The industrial market was strong, too, with a six-month drop of 12.93 percent. As of the end of 2014, this market’s vacancy rate stood at a healthy 5.68 percent.
Despite the somewhat sluggish numbers, Lexington did see some significant commercial transactions in 2014. On the retail side, Cabela’s signed a 70,000-square-foot lease in Hamburg Place in the East Lexington/Fayette market.
Lexington Motorsports claimed the largest industrial lease signing of 2014. The company signed a lease for 35,000 square feet at 1850 Bryant Road in the East Lexington/Fayette market. Association Management Resources signed a 17,602-square-foot lease at Chase Tower in downtown. That ranked as the largest office lease in the CBD in 2014.
