Thanks for sharing, Chris Caulum, SIOR - Madison CRE Advisor! 🤩 We're thrilled to share a sneak peek 👀 of our new Madison Learning Center! Our team is beyond excited to open our doors 🚪 and continue to bring top-notch ABA services to the community. Stay tuned for more updates! 🌟
Although it may look like just drywall and studs, this picture represents a small sign of progress, both in the office market and the fight against autism. The overall vacancy rate in Madison was 9.6 percent as 2019 ended but rose to 14.4 percent as of Q2 2024. And in looking at just the West submarket, which includes Middleton, Old Sauk Trails Park and the Junction Road area, vacancy has now hit 20 percent (!) What (or who) is driving the surge in west side vacancy? The answer is formerly very large office users who have changed corporate policy on office attendance. Spectrum Brands, Energizer, TDS, Dean Health, Healthgrades, Insperity, and Sierra Space, to name a few. Office landlords are fighting the tide by trying to make their spaces stand out against a ton of competitors, so I am happy to share that my client Newcomb Properties inked a long term lease for 10,200 SF on the first floor of 1242 Fourier Drive in Old Sauk Trails, which represented the largest new lease in the Madison market in the second quarter. Our new tenant, Wisconsin Early Autism Project, has been a leader in diagnosing and treating Autism for 25 years. Coincidentally, building owner Bret Newcomb’s daughter works with autistic kids in another market and thus he has a deep appreciation for WEAP’s mission. WEAP's space utilization is what you would call non-traditional for an office user, an obstacle that required something extra to get the deal to the finish line, so with Bret's personal connection and some creativity from the tenant and brokers on both sides, we were fortunate to get there. Thanks to the tenant rep team of Luke Paterson (Swearingen Realty Group, Dallas TX) and Patti Stevens (RFP Commercial, Milwaukee). We look forward to seeing WEAP's doors open this Fall!