The center of Barcelona will have another 100,000 m2 of offices in three years

In Barcelona, the demand for offices is not only focused on spaces in the 22@ district or in the new Marina neighborhood, in the Zona Franca, because not all companies need large workspaces, and even less now that teleworking has become established in many companies. The figures for the segment make it clear: in the next three years, 100,000 square meters will come onto the market in the most central neighborhoods of the city, which continue to be attractive for the business fabric, according to data from the real estate consultancy CBRE.

This figure shows that there is a latent demand from companies that traditionally want to locate in the city center because "the largest number of operations closed in the office segment throughout the year correspond to spaces between 500 square meters and 1,000 square meters," explains Manel de Bes, director of the office department at the real estate company Forcadell. The technician explains that "this type of demand is what is most abundant in Barcelona, ​​even though operations that reserve large volumes of space in 22@ have more repercussions, at least in the media."

The sector views market prospects with optimism, after the decline in supply that had been registered since 2017 and which was broken last year with the incorporation of 12,000 square meters of available workspaces, a figure that had not been registered since 2015. A large part of these areas are located in what is known as the Central Business District, the business area par excellence in the city center limited by the axes of Avenida Diagonal and Paseo de Gràcia.

In line with growing demand thanks to economic recovery and the emergence in many companies of teleworking and hybrid workdays (in-person and remote), there are currently 30,000 square meters of offices under construction in the central area of Barcelona, of which about 25,000 square meters will be commercialized this year.

In projects pending initiation, an additional 17,000 square meters are accounted for, which could be completed in the next two years. Meanwhile, in 2024, the comprehensive rehabilitation work on the Estel building ---the former Telefónica headquarters on Avenida de Roma, designed by architect Francesc Mitjans-- will be completed, where the German real estate investment manager Freo, in alliance with the Bain Capital fund ---owner of the Habitat real estate company---, will launch a development of 47,000 square meters of offices. In addition, the facilities will include an auditorium, meeting rooms, gym, sports and entertainment rooms, as well as other additional services, and the building will have two rooftop terraces and commercial and restaurant areas at street level.

A fluctuating decade

Lindy Garber, Director of Advisory & Leasing Offices at CBRE Barcelona, explains that the most central office segment has gone through different stages in the last decade and that now the relationship between supply and demand is at one of its best moments.

According to the head of CBRE, in 2010, the market in the central area delivered just over 11,000 square meters and available spaces decreased until recovering in 2015, with 11,800 square meters. "But this level was not sustained and fell to 1,500 available meters in 2017," because in previous years around 75,000 square meters of offices were destroyed. The cause of this decline was that the construction sector opted to allocate land or vacant buildings to real estate developments with other uses: residential and especially hotel in anticipation of a possible municipal moratorium on the granting of licenses, which was finally applied in 2015. Since then, the availability of workspaces has averaged about 15,000 square meters annually.

Developers' preferences to allocate spaces to other uses destroyed 75,000 m2 of offices

Rents in the city center are between 29 euros in the prime area ---Avenida Diagonal between Francesc Macià and Plaza Pius XII--- and 22 euros per square meter per month. However, there is a very wide range of prices for different types of buildings, with a clear interest from real estate operators of flexible spaces to open more offices in the city center, as it is an increasingly attractive area for companies.

Upcoming developments

Among the developments that have already begun is the building of the corporate headquarters of the real estate company Colonial at number 532 on Avenida Diagonal, between Tuset and Aribau streets, which has freed up six of the eight floors, with an area of ​​about 1,200 square meters per floor. One of the first tenants is Utopicus, specialized in flexible workspaces, which will open its sixth coworking space on the second floor of this building.

In Sarrià, Meridia Capital has begun marketing the Upper Sarrià office building, of 4,000 square meters. The property, on Calle Osi, at its confluence with Calle Santa Amèlia, will also have collaborative spaces.

By the end of this year, the delivery of the office building that Catella Real Estate is rehabilitating on Vía Augusta, at number 123, next to Plaza Molina, is expected, in the building that for years housed the headquarters of the Institute of North American Studies, in Barcelona. It will have nine office floors, with a total rental area of ​​3,902 square meters and 781 square meters of terrace. The original facade and design by architect José María Bosch Aymerich will be respected.

Also, surfaces are available in other more consolidated buildings such as Merlin Properties' building at Avenida Diagonal 605, which has been partly remodeled after the relocation of Everis, its main tenant, to 22@. The property has nearly 14,000 square meters and also houses offices for Levi Strauss and Credit Suisse. Each of the vacant floors has 1,528 square meters of surface, which can be subdivided into six modules.

On the other hand, after a reorganization to expand common areas and modernize the offices, the Garden building, corporate headquarters of the Planeta editorial group, has about 3,000 square meters available. The emblematic office building, at Avenida Diagonal 662, has 28,000 square meters distributed over six floors, plus 3,200 m2 of green areas, now features a new, larger double-height lobby, a working lounge, a cafeteria with an outdoor terrace and garden area, changing rooms and a fitness area, retail spaces, and an auditorium.

Deliveries planned until 2024

For the next two years, in a staggered manner, Zurich is expected to put three of the buildings it acquired from the Generalitat de Catalunya on the market. In total, this would be about 14,000 square meters, in the Dreta de l'Eixample, specifically, about 6,000 m2 on Gran Via with Calle Bruc; and two buildings of 4,000 m2 each on Ausias Marc and Casp streets.

For 2024, to close the prime area, right next to Francesc Macià square, is the asset that had belonged to El Corte Inglés department stores which, now in the hands of Mersan Asset Management, is also being transformed into an office building. Of the total surface area of 32,000 square meters, the new project will enable about 20,000 meters for offices, distributed over six floors, and there will be 2,500 meters for other uses.

Another development for two years from now will be the Torre Sabadell. Now owned by Hines, which is proceeding with the comprehensive renovation of the property to adapt it to new sustainability standards.