Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer Research Report
Recent years have brought the Richmond Region immeasurable attention thanks to the UCI Road World Championships and its numerous accolades. And much like the international cyclists with the winning times, Greater Richmond also had a series of successful wins. Richmond ranked 3rd on the 10 Best Places to Start a Business, Inc. magazine, and a top destination for food travel in 2016, by National Geographic.
Richmond Region has seen steady growth. According to a recent report by the Greater Richmond Partnership, job growth in the Richmond Metro Statistical Area (MSA) picked up significantly in 2015, outpacing the Commonwealth’s growth by nearly 50 percent and growing at over twice the national rate. Employment in Richmond increased by 4.1 percent, compared to 2.7 percent in Virginia and 2.0 percent across the nation.
This should not come as much of a surprise to Virginians as it is well known that the Commonwealth boasts a highly skilled and educated workforce. That, coupled with a robust quality of life and a lower cost of doing business than similar-sized Mid-Atlantic and northern cities, makes Richmond and Virginia more broadly an attractive target for relocating a business. In fact, Richmond in particular has become a hot destination for relocating back office and call center functions from more expensive markets, with companies like Aditya Birla Minacs, Teleperformance and AvePoint recently moving here.
Part of the reason for that is the low cost of office space. A recent report by Wallethub .com rated the top 100 cities in the US to start a business and based on the cost metrics, three Virginia cities are ranked in the top 25. Richmond ranked 15th, Norfolk 21stand Newport News 23rd.
Nick Schimick, Director of Marketing at Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer noted, “We’ve seen very healthy demand for office space From Richmond to the Peninsula over the last few quarters. Virginia has really benefitted as firms from more expensive markets have sought more cost-effective locations to put down roots.”
About Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer
Thalhimer was founded in 1913 and currently has offices in Richmond, Newport News, Virginia Beach, Fredericksburg, Roanoke, Charlottesville, and Lynchburg, VA; and Charleston, Greenville, SC. The company has over 100 broker professionals and employs over 400 associates with a property portfolio of over 48 million leasable square feet, and management of over 20 million square feet of commercial property, and over 6,100 multifamily units. In 2015 Thalhimer completed over 2,100 transactions with a transactional volume over $2 billion. Thalhimer is the region’s leading provider of comprehensive commercial real estate services. The firm offers comprehensive commercial real estate services including corporate services, investment sales, tenant representation, construction management, project management, asset management, and the sale and leasing of office, industrial and retail properties. To learn more, visit www.thalhimer.com or follow @Thalhimer on Twitter.
Independently Owned and Operated / A Member of the Cushman & Wakefield Alliance
About Cushman & Wakefield
Cushman & Wakefield is a leading global real estate services firm that helps clients transform the way people work, shop, and live. The firm’s 43,000 employees in more than 60 countries provide deep local and global insights that create significant value for occupiers and investors around the world. Cushman & Wakefield is among the largest commercial real estate services firms with revenue of $5 billion across core services of agency leasing, asset services, capital markets, facility services (C&W Services), global occupier services, investment & asset management (DTZ Investors), project & development services, tenant representation, and valuation & advisory. To learn more, visit www.cushmanwakefield.com or follow @CushWake on Twitter.
