.jpg "Image treatment")
Pandemic puts a pause on regional business activity, leasing activity plummets
Ongoing virus prevention measures shut down Philadelphia’s business and social activity for a majority of the second quarter as businesses remain focused on work-from-home measures while navigating how to safely return employees to the office. However, some signs of an economic reopening are emerging. In the beginning of June, counties in the southeastern Philadelphia region were given permission to slowly reopen businesses with strict social distancing guidelines. Still, the drastic limitation on business activity is reflected in current office demand, particularly as many tenants have put real estate decisions on hold while they seek to determine the best work environment for their workforce. Overall, second-quarter leasing activity totaled just 942,000 square feet (sf) - less than half of what was seen in Q1 (2.7 million square feet). This activity included Spark Therapeutics’ lease for the entire 64,000-sf 3000 Market Street building in University City, NCS Pearson’s lease extension (35,734 sf) in Bala Cynwyd, and EwingCole’s one-year sublease of 30,171 sf in Berwyn. The EwingCole sublease is of note as it was executed to spread out staff and allow suburban-based workers access to an office without having to commute into the city office via public transportation.