Both the industrial and office sectors in Indianapolis and Columbus are looking good for development and construction in 2014. Industrial will be a primary focus for us because it’s a strong sector in terms of activity, but as certain submarkets experience a lack of available space, we’ll look to office as well.
Industrial vacancy in Columbus continues to be very low with a projection of a mild increase in vacancy for 2014. The Columbus market has a very real shortage of available modern bulk space, which is causing increased rental rates and renewed interest in spec development. In Indianapolis, we continue to see steady demand and absorption of space leading us to plan for additional spec construction.
We’re currently under construction on two spec buildings at Plainfield Business Center where we’ve previously constructed eleven buildings. Construction will wrap up this summer.
Throughout the year, we anticipate seeing continued improvement in both office and industrial sectors with increased spec development in Columbus and spec office development in select submarkets of Columbus and Indianapolis.