GREENSBORO, N.C. — The Triad's two biggest cities are trying to keep downtown from emptying out.
Greensboro and Winston-Salem each have vacant space to fill out. Winston-Salem has never seen so many empty spots.
According to the latest report from Global Commercial Real Estate Services or CBRE, Inc., the number of office buildings that sit empty here in the Triad has doubled since 2019.
WFMY News 2's Nixon Norman spoke with city leaders in both Greensboro and Winston-Salem about the growing number of office spaces that sit unused and why this has taken place.
Greensboro Councilman Zack Matheny and Winston-Salem's Mayor Allen Joines both said since the beginning of COVID and remote working, the need for office space in the triad has gone down tremendously.
"COVID certainly changed the landscape of office use throughout the country. No matter if it's downtown, or the suburbs, or the airport," Councilman Matheny said.
"Companies, corporations, and others discovered they could work remotely and make things happen and can cut down on their office space which is a cost reduction," Mayor Joines said
Most recently in Winston-Salem, Wells Fargo vacated 700,000 square feet of space across multiple buildings in the downtown area, leaving 22.1% of offices empty in the area, according to that latest CBRE report.
Mayor Joines said luckily, it's not impacting jobs as much as you would think.
"The jobs are still here. It's just that they're working from home or in different arrangements," Mayor Joines said.
In fact, he sees the vacancies as an opportunity for other businesses to make downtown Winston-Salem home.
"A positive thing for downtown, of course is that Hanes Brands Inc. is moving their corporate headquarters to downtown, first quarter of next year. It will bring 500 people and will lease between 150-200,000 square feet," Mayor Joines said.
The City of Greensboro is not far behind when it comes to office vacancies with 19.1% of offices in Downtown Greensboro sitting empty.
"Our rents have increased. I mean, the cost of doing business has increased," Councilman Matheny said.
He said before COVID, it was normal to pay less than $20 dollars per square foot for office space in the downtown area. Now, you pay anywhere from 25 dollars for the same office space.
Both city leaders tell me they are actively recruiting to bring businesses to the Triad in hopes that those office spaces will eventually be filled.