Durham, NC - Office Market Overview
The Durham real estate market includes the Cameron Woods, Copper Creek, and Stadium Heights commercial real estate office submarkets. With a population of over 550,000, the city is part of the Durham - Chapel Hill metropolitan statistical area. Part of the Triangle, the economy in Durham is driven in large part by research and development companies, which create a strong demand for white-collar office space in Durham.
As of mid-2017, the Durham office market encompasses over 12 million square feet of existing office space, in properties larger than 50,000 square feet. Home to Duke University and North Carolina Central University, the city's history dates back to before the U.S. Civil War.
Durham, NC - Office Inventory Description
As part of the Research Triangle, Durham attracts more than its share of venture capital and investment. Despite its small population, the city has a gross metropolitan product of nearly $37 billion annually, with strong white-collar office employment growth year after year. Over 50% of the office space in Durham is Class A or A+, with Class B office product adding another 45% of inventory to the commercial real estate market in Durham, NC.
The Research Triangle Park office space submarket in Durham sees some of the strongest demand for R&D Class A office space in the region. Located along I-40 between I-540 and Route 147, the area is home to investment-grade office buildings such as Imperial Center - Cambridge Hall & Canterbury Hall, Research Commons, and Central Park South at 5003 South Miami Boulevard in Durham.
Durham, NC - Green Office Space
Given the role that R&D plays in the economy of Durham, it's no surprise that the demand for energy-efficient, green office space is increasing every year. An excellent example of a LEED-certified office building in Durham, NC, is the Diamond View III. With 133,000 square feet of Class A office space, the building was constructed in 2012 and boasts a LEED certification.
The 2017 National Green Building Adoption Index surveyed the top 30 largest office markets in the U.S. The percentage of energy-efficient green office space buildings increased from less than 5% in 2005, to 38% by mid-year 2017. While Durham doesn't rank in the top 30 major office markets in the country, its commitment to developing green office space is strong.
Durham, NC's Top Office-Using Sectors
The Durham commercial real estate market is largely driven by the top office-using sectors of R&D, healthcare, education, and large corporate office users.
- Research & Development – GlaxoSmithKline, Quintiles, RTI International, Cree, Syngenta Biotechnology, and AW North Carolina are a few of the companies in the R&D office space sector that create demand for skilled, white-collar office employment.
- Healthcare – Duke University Health System, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, and the Durham VA Medical Center generate consistent demand for office space in the Durham metro area.
- Education – Duke University and North Carolina Central University produce highly skilled workers and help supply the demand for white collar employees in Durham.
- Corporate Office – Fidelity Investments is one of the largest white-collar employers in Durham, along with IBM, BASF, and Cisco Systems.
Durham Demographics
Population
- Total Population257,232
- Male Population(47.0 %) 120,795
- Female Population(53.0 %) 136,437
- Median Age33.60
Income/Financial
- Average Household Income$77,357
- Median Household Income$54,284
- Median Income Under 25$27,848
- Median Income 25-44$54,988
- Median Income 45-64$67,103
- Median Income Over 65$46,708
- Ashley Forest Demographics
- Bennet Place Demographics
- Cameron Woods Demographics
- Central Park Demographics
- Chapel Hill Road Demographics
- Copper Creek Demographics
- Crest Street Demographics
- Croasdaile Demographics
- Crooked Creek Demographics
- Darby Glen Demographics
- Downtown Durham Demographics
- Duke East Campus Demographics
- Duke West Campus Demographics
- Eagle's Pointe Demographics
- Folkestone Demographics
- Golden Belt Demographics
- Knollwood Demographics
- Old West Durham Demographics
- Parc at University Demographics
- Parkwood Demographics
- Research Triangle Park Demographics
- Stadium Heights Demographics
- Summer Meadow Demographics
- Taylor Estates Demographics
- The Landing at Southpoint Demographics
- Valley Run Demographics
- Warehouse District Demographics
- Westgate Townes Demographics
News
2019 US Office Pipeline – NYC, the Bay Area and San Francisco Set to Deliver 33 MSF of Office Space
April 10, 2019
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2018 Office Check-In: Top US Markets for Development, Largest Projects of the Year
September 20, 2018
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