Village staff: Germantown has substantial Class A industrial inventory with elevated vacancy; commission to follow up with market reports
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Summary
Village staff presented commercial real-estate data showing roughly 3.8 million sq ft of Class A industrial space with a 19.9% vacancy rate and modest YTD absorption, while Class B and flex space vacancy are much lower; commissioners requested additional market reports and EDWC data at the Dec. 9 meeting.
Steve, a village staff member, presented industrial real-estate market data to the Economic Development Commission on Nov. 11 as part of the Operation Storefront agenda item.
Steve said a CARW-affiliated real estate broker pulled Germantown-specific data showing Class A industrial inventory of about 3,800,000 square feet with a vacancy rate of about 19.9% and year-to-date absorption of 86,984 square feet at an average rental rate of approximately $6.87 per square foot. Class B inventory was reported at about 2,200,000 square feet with a vacancy rate near 0.7% and minimal absorption, and flex space inventory at about 340,000 square feet with a 9% vacancy and absorption around 6,400 square feet. He noted about 250,000 square feet of user-owned space came online year to date.
"One of the things that I was told is the vacancy rate is higher in Germantown right now because that's where the new space was built," Steve said, and he cited market uncertainty driven by tariffs and interest-rate risk as reasons developers and tenants are pausing new leases or construction. Steve added there is a pipeline project that could add roughly 120,000–130,000 square feet near Holy Hill, which would increase absorption figures if it completes.
Commissioners recommended staff also consult publicly available reports from national brokerages such as Colliers and CBRE and to continue tracking County Line Road listings; staff said EDWC is tentatively scheduled to present local labor-force data at the commission's Dec. 9 meeting. Commissioners discussed demand for smaller spaces (about 10,000–12,000 square feet) and the potential of creating an opt-in village directory of local service providers to support growing or relocating businesses.
Staff recommended presenting this market snapshot annually or semiannually to maintain current data for outreach and site-selection support.
