Death of the Downtown Business District Is Greatly Exaggerated: Some ‘Occupier Insights’ for CRE Investors

Well, for insight on office occupation, it makes sense to turn to someone whose title is "global head of occupier insights," and the person with that role at Cushman & Wakefield (NYSE: CWK) dismisses the idea that there's some permanent mass exodus from America's great central business districts. Smith and Thorpe said the reasons for those businesses returning and remaining include "clustering/innovation, thick labor pools, infrastructure, mass transit, amenities, airports, arts and entertainment, restaurants, etc. Moreover, we note that in some of the global cities we track, where the virus is more contained (e.g., Beijing, Shanghai, Sydney) those cities are already snapping back." Back home, notes the report from Chicago-based Cushman & Wakefield, the pandemic's effect on emptying downtown office space -- at least in terms of leases -- was not particularly dramatic in the nation's largest markets.