They include the Baltimore-Washington corridor's office market and Harford County 's warehouse market. But the region will reflect a national slowdown, said David Houck, of the Staubach Co. While even Columbia has been no match for the hottest markets, including San Francisco, Boston and Northern Virginia, all will see a slight cooling-off this year. Some tech companies are locating in Class B buildings in the central business district, lured by cheap rent from Boxer Property Management Corp., but experts are skeptical about any major Class A development in the central business district. Development companies including J. J. Clarke Enterprises and Lockwood Associates have sites but no construction dates.
Financing remains the problem.
Developers with expensive pieces of land need to build large towers, but there are no large anchor tenants to fill them and attract investment. Trammell Crow Co. Vacancy rates will continue to drop in the city and Baltimore County, and that will force up rates, but not enough to pay for new construction. Companies in the city and county will pretty much stay put due to lack of alternatives. More definite need for space will be clear by February as companies decide what their expansion needs will be, said Randall M. Griffin, president and chief operating officer of Corporate Office Properties Trust. It's the next round that people should look at carefully.