Courtesy of CBRE
By Paul Post
Craig Darby knows all about ups and downs.
He went back and forth between the minors and NHL for six years before landing a full-time job skating for the Montreal Canadiens.
“There’s negative and positive things that go on during hockey,” said Darby, a retired 15-year pro. “You get called up, you’re encouraged then a week or two later you’re sent down. It’s all about tomorrow’s a new day. You’ve got to be as positive as you can about the next day because good things can happen.”
This outlook has served the 52-year-old Darby well in his second career as an experienced real estate broker for CBRE Upstate, a division of Dallas-based CBRE, the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm with clients in more than 100 countries.
Business cycles are sometimes more volatile than hard-nosed hockey players battling it out in a Game 7 playoff contest.
But Darby believes demand for Glens Falls-area office space is definitely on the upswing, another key aspect of the city’s economic revitalization that’s transformed downtown in recent years.
During the COVID pandemic, many companies sent their employees home to work remotely. Tribune Media, for example, vacated its large modern building on Media Drive, a short distance from Exit 18 in Queensbury.
However, some firms are now returning to more traditional office settings. Some have downsized and can now afford to operate in smaller, more economical office spaces. Other businesses discovered they weren’t as efficient with people working apart from one another.
Still others really want employees to enjoy their office space, so they want to make it a little bit larger, a little bit nicer.
“I think most if not all firms are going back to the office,” Darby said. “It’s just a matter of what the tenant requirements are. Companies have their own requirements of what they feel is most efficient and brings in the most revenue for them. So there’s a dynamic of people wanting different things that make the most sense for them in particular.”
In downtown Glens Falls, office space is renting or leasing for approximately $17.50 per square foot, the lowest price of any Capital Region city, according to a recent CBRE report outlining first and second quarter trends.
The vacancy rate is still somewhat high, especially compared to Saratoga Springs, which has the region’s lowest office space vacancy rate. At $27 per square foot, it’s also the most expensive despite a nearly $2-per-square foot decline since the first half of 2023.
Firms large and small are attracted to the Spa City’s extraordinarily healthy business climate and attractive quality of life that helps them recruit top talent.
“Saratoga is a unique market,” Darby said.
To a lesser degree perhaps, but he believes demand for Glens Falls market office space will continue to grow, too. That would especially be true if and when GlobalFoundries pulls the trigger on plans for a second large semiconductor plant at Luther Forest Technology Campus in Malta.
At present, there is considerable space in the Travelers insurance building downtown at 333 Glen Street and the former National Grid building at 1 Apollo Drive.
“In Glens Falls, Warren and Washington counties it’s more smaller companies,” Darby said. “The challenge is to find small office spaces. But good quality spaces are available.”
“It is a cheaper option than Saratoga,” he said. “I think there will be more demand moving forward.”