As the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a surge in remote work, and the need for office space where all employees can work together has decreased significantly, office vacancy rates in Fairfax County, Virginia, are on the rise. According to recent data from the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA), the vacancy rate in Fairfax County rose from 16.7% in July of last year to 17.2% by the end of the year, the highest in a decade. Areas with particularly high vacancy rates include the Centreville and Reston areas in the western part of the county, along Dulles Toll Road and Route 28, where some buildings are over 50,000 square feet in size but more than 65% are vacant. There are 28 buildings with particularly high vacancy rates countywide, and the combined empty space in these buildings amounts to a whopping 3.7 million square feet.
Fairfax County, which has seen a significant decrease in commercial real estate tax revenue due to these empty buildings being left empty for years, is reportedly considering ways to repurpose these buildings for other purposes, such as multifamily housing. An official from the Economic Development Authority said, “Currently, real estate companies have expressed their intention to demolish and redevelop 70 empty buildings with 7.1 million square feet of office space,” and “We are also considering converting 8 buildings to residential use.” Separately, county officials expect that interest rates will fall soon, which will help the commercial real estate market breathe a little easier. They
are also pursuing a plan to attract artificial intelligence companies, which have recently been hiring a lot of people.