Westchester County continued to register strong leasing activity in the second quarter of 2017, according to JLL. Tenants completed 698,129 square feet in transactions this quarter, easily surpassing the 453,678 square feet in deals completed the previous quarter.

However, the healthy activity in Westchester County’s urban locations was not enough to counter the large amount of Class A space added to the county’s suburban submarkets at midyear 2017. In particular, Westchester North witnessed its Class A vacancy rate increase from 37.4 percent three months ago to 63.4 percent this quarter, as all 1.1 million square feet of the former IBM campus at 294 Route 100 in Somers, N.Y., was added to an inventory already saturated with vacant space in suburban office parks.

“Urban offices in close proximity to transit options have clearly been the chief market driver during the first half of the year, while the suburban markets have been challenged by a lack of tenant interest,” saidChris O’Callaghan, Managing Director and Westchester County market lead for JLL. “We expect this trend to continue, with some suburban assets likely to be repositioned for non-office use. While not a traditional office occupier, Westchester County’s life sciences industry has generated several large multimillion-square-foot research and development projects, with more in the pipeline.”

Westchester County recorded 930,802 square feet in negative net absorption in the second quarter of 2017, compared with 431,543 square feet in positive net absorption the previous quarter.

White Plains CBD

The White Plans CBD registered 281,706 square feet in completed deals in the second quarter of the year. The submarket claimed four of the five largest transactions completed throughout Westchester County this quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., Danone North America LLC and Premier Home Health Care Services Inc. all signed large leases, totaling more than 200,000 square feet of office space. Danone’s move continued the trend of firms transitioning from suburban campuses to offices in the city. New York Life Insurance Co. made a similar move in the first quarter in its relocation to 44 South Broadway.

These migrations are helping White Plains position itself as a center for the “live-work- play” lifestyle in Westchester County. The effort has also been supported by abundant residential development.

I-287 Corridor

The I-287 Corridor witnessed 298,939 square feet in deal volume in the second quarter of 2017, with I-287 West accounting for most of that volume, recording 195,343 square feet in deals in the second quarter of 2017.

Many office buildings along the I-287 Corridor are being converted to higher-rent medical, residential, life sciences, fitness, retail and educational properties as building owners struggle with elevated suburban office vacancy rates. Repurposed buildings include 103, 105, 106, 108 and 110 Corporate Park Drive, all of which are being adapted for residential and retail use.

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JLL is a leader in the New York tri-state commercial real estate market, with more than 2,400 of the most recognized industry experts offering brokerage, capital markets, property/facilities management, consulting, and project and development services. In 2016, the New York tri-state team completed approximately 28.2 million square feet of lease transactions; arranged investment sales, notes, debt and equity transactions valued at more than $12.0 billion; managed projects valued at $7.9 billion; and oversaw a property management, facilities management and agency leasing portfolio exceeding 146.7 million square feet.

About JLL

JLL (NYSE: JLL) is a leading professional services firm that specializes in real estate and investment management. A Fortune 500 company, JLL helps real estate owners, occupiers and investors achieve their business ambitions. In 2016, JLL had revenue of $6.8 billion and fee revenue of $5.8 billion and, on behalf of clients, managed 4.4 billion square feet, or 409 million square meters, and completed sales acquisitions and finance transactions of approximately $136 billion. At the end of the first quarter of 2017, JLL had nearly 300 corporate offices, operations in over 80 countries and a global workforce of more than 78,000. As of March 31, 2017, LaSalle Investment Management had $58.0 billion of real estate under asset management. JLL is the brand name, and a registered trademark, of Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated. For further information, visit www.jll.com.