Office space in Fresno and Clovis increased 17.6%, or 3 million square feet, from 2003 to 2008, but new and expanding businesses did a pretty good job of filling most of it.

In 2003, the amount of occupied office space increased 201,000 square feet. That climbed 560,000 square feet in 2004, almost another 534,000 square feet in 2005 and a whopping 743,542 square feet in 2006. In 2007, the increase in occupied office space was a mediocre 77,154 square feet -- and then it tumbled into negative territory last year, according to data just released by Colliers Tingey International.

The increase of almost 57,000 square feet in vacant space in 2008 was linked to a slowing economy. Construction slowed or stopped, and many companies pared down or postponed expansion plans. Some businesses, especially those in real estate and related fields, closed offices.

Despite that, the vacancy rate rose only slightly, from 11.8% in 2007 to 12.4% at the end of 2008, Colliers Tingey reported.

There is a total of 20.4 million square feet of office space in Fresno and Clovis.

Surprisingly, agents at Colliers Tingey in Fresno report an uptick in leasing activity since January as some businesses take advantage of lower lease rates and landlord incentives to move up.

"Everyone went into a giant crouch, and [some] are now trying to seize opportunities," said Brian Decker, an office specialist.

One big change: Commercial real estate agents are representing more tenants than landlords, which is a reversal of normal trends, said Charles Tingey, company principal.
With construction way off, Colliers Tingey hopes more space will be filled than lost in 2009.

Here were some of the larger leases signed in 2008: Fresno County Office of Education, 21,313 square feet near Fresno Yosemite International Airport; General Services Administration, almost 20,000 square feet in northwest Fresno; and Crawford & Co., 19,788 square feet in northeast Fresno.