CHARLESTON OFFICE MARKET REPORT
Q2 MARKET SNAPSHOT
15,692,706 SF
8.3% Asking Rents
Deliveries $32.77 SF 65,000 SF 0 SF
Q2 HIGHLIGHTS & TRENDS
• THE OFFICE MARKET GAINED MOMENTUM DURING Q2, AS SEVERAL LARGE LEASE TRANSACTIONS CONTRIBUTED TO POSITIVE ABSORPTION AND LOWER AVAILABILITY.
• DEMAND BROADENED IN SIZE WITH MULTIPLE LEASE TRANSACTIONS GREATER THAN 30,000 SQUARE FEET.
• DANIEL ISLAND EXPERIENCED STRONG SUBLEASE ACTIVITY, SHOWING THAT WELL-LOCATED, HIGH-QUALITY 2ND GENERATION SPACE COMPETES WELL WHEN PRICING AND OCCUPANCY TIMING ALIGN.
• THE FLIGHT TO QUALITY CONTINUES, WITH TENANTS PRIORITIZING HIGH “PERFORMANCE” SPACES, PARTICULARLY LOBBIES, CONFERENCE ROOMS, AND KITCHENS, DESIGNED TO IMPRESS CLIENTS, PARTNERS, AND STAFF.
• LIMITED NEW CONSTRUCTION WILL CONTINUE TO SUPPORT EXISTING ASSETS, WHILE OWNERS OF OLDER BUILDINGS RELY ON RENOVATIONS, CONCESSIONS, AND READY TO LEASE SUITES TO REMAIN COMPETITIVE.
LARGE LEASES DOMINATE CHARLESTON’S OFFICE MARKET IN Q2
Q2 2026 RECAP
• Overall market conditions strengthened during Q2, with several sizable leases contributing to positive absorption and reduced overall vacancy to 8.3%.
• Notable transactions include:
- Boeing leased approximately 80,000 SF at 3450 Ingleside Boulevard;
- Gallen College and Voya Financial each subleased approxiamtely 36,400 SF from Benefitfocus;
- Charleston County Library leased approximately 28,000 SF at 1142 Morrison Drive in the Former ILA HQ;
- Bright View Dental leased approximately 13,675 SF at The Hub at Nexton;
- SIB leased approximately 5,100 SF at Gateway Center in Mount Pleasant.
• Asking-rent growth continues to rise, but pricing continues to vary significantly by building quality.
LEASING MOMENTUM PICKS UP IN Q2
• Q2’s larger transactions suggest that demand is beginning to broaden across a wider range of tenant sizes and large format offices are coming back into vogue.
• The increase in larger transactions does not necessarily represent corporate expansion. Activity continues to include relocations, consolidations, education users, government-related occupants, and tenants taking advantage of favorable second-generation space.
• Gallen College and Voya Financial demonstrate that corporate companies will consider sublease space when it offers quality existing improvements, larger contiguous blocks, faster occupancy, and competitive economics.
• Smaller professional services and regional based users will likely still continue to account for most transaction volume.
FLIGHT TO QUALITY EVOLVES
• Tenants continue to prioritize high-quality product, but quality alone is no longer the only differentiator. Users are increasingly focused on the total cost and risk associated with a relocation.
• Move-in-ready suites, existing furniture, flexible demising options, and well defined construction schedules can improve a building’s competitive position.
• As the office market tightens and new development remains limited, some tenants are turning to the adaptive reuse of older office, retail, and industrial buildings to create distinctive workplace environments.
LIMITED CONSTRUCTION CONTINUES TO SUPPORT FUNDAMENTALS
• The active pipeline continues to consist primarily of medical, institutional, mixed-use, or pre-leased projects rather than speculative development.
• Magnolia Landing and Courier Square remain the most notable proposed Class A office development and is expected to establish a premium rental benchmark.
• Mount Pleasant, West Ashley, and James Island remain supply-constrained, while Berkeley and Dorchester counties continue to capture a larger share of new development.
80,000 SF lease in North Charleston representing one of the quarter’s largest transactions.
Two 36,450 SF sublease transactions took place reducing a large portion of Daniel Island’s sublease space.
The
3450 INGLESIDE BOULEVARD
ATELIER NEXTON
$4.28M sale of this office in Nexton shows continued investor and owner-user interest in well-located, suburban areas.
Photo source: showcase.com
DANIEL ISLAND EXECUTIVE CENTER
THE HUB AT NEXTON
13,675 SF gets leased at The Hub, reinforcing demand for suburban product.
MARK A. MATTISON, CCIM, SIOR Executive Vice President mark.mattison@bridge-commercial.com
PETER FENNELLY, MCR, SIOR, SLCR President peter.fennelly@bridge-commercial.com
COLBY FARMER Associate Vice President colby.farmer@bridge-commercial.com
DANIEL PELLEGRINO Executive Vice President daniel.pellegrino@bridge-commercial.com
MATT JOHNSON Associate matt.johnson@bridge-commercial.com
HAGOOD S. MORRISON, II, SIOR Executive Vice President hs.morrison@bridge-commercial.com