The office vacancy rate for the Hartford central business district jumped to 24.65 percent in the first quarter from 18.38 percent in the prior quarter, largely because of MetLife’s relocation to Bloomfield, according to a report from Jones Lang LaSalle.
Although MetLife will be vacating 373,000 square feet at CityPlace I by Oct. 31, the available space at CityPlace was added to the CBD’s office space inventory in the first quarter.
Meanwhile, Travelers expanded by 33,600 square feet at 10 State House Square in the first quarter and should finalize another 150,000 square feet of leases in the second quarter, according to the report.
Jones Lang LaSalle said that the MetLife relocation “will keep pressure on lease rates and landlords will be forced to continue to provide significant concessions to lure prospective tenants.”