Now’s a big decade for office space

Manhattan developers are banking on a rise in demand for modern office space. More than 25 million square feet of projects are currently under construction or slated to begin in the next nine years, according to Bloomberg News, marking the city’s biggest decade for office development since the 1980s.

Only 7.4 million square feet of office space was developed in the 1990s and around 18.5 million in the 2000s.

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Companies such as Boston Properties and Vornado Realty Trust are in negotiations with potential tenants and may even proceed with construction without securing leases, Bloomberg said. The average office vacancy rate fell to 12.2 percent as of April 30, after peaking at 13.5 percent in March 2010, according to Cassidy Turley.

Boston Properties may be the first to break ground by the end of 2011. The company is finalizing negotiations to anchor a 1 million-square-foot tower at Eighth Avenue and 55th Street. [Bloomberg News]