The 22@ technological district has attracted the implementation of twenty large companies so far this year, which rented an additional 40,000 m2 of offices, almost triple that of the same period last year, at a time when the doubts of the promoters has led to the paralysis of half of the projects in the area due to the drop in activity after the pandemic.
Laura Caballero, director of the Barcelona office of the consulting firm Jones Lang Lasalle, explained that 2024 has been the second best start to the year for the district in a decade, only behind 2019. “Last year there was a lot of uncertainty in the economy and many implementation projects were stopped, which now that the outlook for interest rates is clarified have been reactivated.”
Among the largest operations of the quarter, the rental of 3,500 m2 by Coty Astor stands out, which moves the offices it previously had in Granollers to the capital, and that of the technology company Rover, which has rented 1,800 m2.
“The district concentrates more than 70% of the highest quality buildings in the city. And although others are coming onto the market in the center, such as the old headquarters of Banc Sabadell on Diagonal, the old Corte Inglés by Francesc Macià or the Estel building, Poblenou is very competitive in rents.” Thus, according to the consulting firm’s data, compared to the nearly 40 euros/m2 per month that it can cost to rent in the new downtown buildings, in 22@ the average rent is 22 euros/m2, although it is around 26 in the best buildings.
“Many companies that need to rent in buildings with large, bright floors with terraces and common areas, to ensure that their employees reduce teleworking and return to the office, find this type of property in the district at an affordable price, while the cost “If they go to the center, they cannot assume it.”
Caballero highlighted as a turning point that the buildings located in the northern part of the district are beginning to be rented, a new neighborhood still full of unbuilt lots and with few services. “They are the most important implementations, because they will act as the locomotive of the area.”
The activation of the rental market occurs at a time when developers have paralyzed a dozen projects due to the high availability rate, which exceeds 22% in the area but reaches almost half of the buildings in the northern area, the that delimit Diagonal, Gran Vía and Rambla de Prim.
Caballero highlighted that there are now 110,000 m2 of offices under construction that will go on the market until the end of 2026 and will be added to the 260,000 m2 that are empty, 71% of all unoccupied offices in the city. “The withdrawal of projects is good news because it means that the real estate market is self-regulating,” he added. The oversupply has also led to a reduction in rental income, nominally of just 2%, although the owners give tenants other types of facilities such as shortages or the assumption of the costs of adapting their offices.
The board assured that the great availability of offices in 22@ “is an opportunity for Barcelona. If the City Council adopts measures to promote the transformation and change of use of buildings in the center, many that today house obsolete offices could be transformed into housing, which is now greatly needed in the city. In Eixample alone we have identified 478 buildings, less than 4,000 m2, with small floor plans and technologically obsolete for a modern company, which would be ideal as homes. Removing this activity from the center would also reduce traffic congestion and pollution in the center of Barcelona.”
