1. Office Trends Report
Greater Columbus Region
www.colliers.com/columbus
Opportunities Abound, Amidst Recovery
Columbus region overview
The Columbus office market gained 93,462 square feet of positive absorption in the fourth quarter. This is the
third quarter in a row of positive absorption, as five of the past six quarters have resulted in positive gains for
the region. Construction continues to pick up, as building has begun at Bob Evans 100,000 square foot
headquarters at 8111 Smith’s Mill Road in New Albany, and the 188,000 square foot Columbia Gas of Ohio
building at 10 West Nationwide Boulevard in the Arena District. The 106,500 square foot Water’s Edge II at
7995 Walton Parkway in New Albany was recently completed, where Sedgwick leased 36,000 square feet of
space. The 50,545 square foot phase one of The New Albany Center of Technology at 7525 West Campus Road
was completed and will be fully occupied by iQor as they signed the largest lease of the quarter.
Forecasts and Reflections
• While 2012 will be distinguished by many as the most monumental in more than five years since the financial
meltdown, much of the market’s success is accredited to portfolio sale offerings and the trading of assets due
to attractive pricing, prime financing and lending opportunities.
• Investment sales continue to be a big storyline going into 2013, as the fourth quarter showed no signs of a
slowdown. Amcor Holdings acquistion of AEW Capital’s 10-building, 780,000-square-foot portfolio of office
buildings that stretch along the I-270 corridor from Dublin’s Metro Center business park to the Corporate
Exchange office park in northeast Columbus was the highlight of the quarter. Blackstone unloaded an
investment holding at 4650 Lakehurst Court in Dublin, as Wells Core Income REIT purchased the 164,600
square foot Class A building for $25.3 million ($153 per square foot). The Central Business District was active
as the 113,309 square foot, Class A Bicentennial Plaza at 250 Civic Center Drive was purchased by Marconi
Partners for just $6.1 million ($53 per square foot).
• The largest new lease transactions of 2012 were JP Morgan Chase leasing 72,588 square feet at 1000 Polaris
Parkway; Alliance Data leasing 68,981 square feet at 4400 Easton Commons; and iQor leasing 50,545 square
feet at 7525 West Campus Road.
Asking Rates and
AVailabilities
Rental rates have
increased over the
course of 2012, as Class
A rates increased from
$18.61 to $18.90; while
Class B rates rose from
$15.47 to $15.93.
Operating expenses
have seen an average
increase of $.33 cents in
2012 due to inflationary
pressures and tax hikes.
The vacancy rate fell
from 11.4 percent to 11.3
percent in the fourth
quarter.
market indicators
Rental Rates
Q4
2012
Q1
2013*
Vacancy
Net absorption
construction
Rental Rates —
*Projected trend for next quarter
Q4 2012 | Office
$14.00
$15.00
$16.00
$17.00
$18.00
$19.00
$20.00
$21.00
3Q
08
4Q
08
1Q
09
2Q
09
3Q
09
4Q
09
1Q
10
2Q
10
3Q
10
4Q
10
1Q
11
2Q
11
3Q
11
4Q
11
1Q
12
2Q
12
3Q
12
4Q
12
Class A Rental Rates Class B
0.0%
2.0%
4.0%
6.0%
8.0%
10.0%
12.0%
14.0%
16.0%
18.0%
20.0%
(400,000)
(300,000)
(200,000)
(100,000)
0
100,000
200,000
300,000
400,000
500,000
600,000
3Q
08
4Q
08
1Q
09
2Q
09
3Q
09
4Q
09
1Q
10
2Q
10
3Q
10
4Q
10
1Q
11
2Q
11
3Q
11
4Q
11
1Q
12
2Q
12
3Q
12
4Q
12
Completions Absorption Vacancy Rate
Absorption, Completions, and Vacancy Rates

2. Employment data
The preliminary unemployment rate for Columbus in
December fell to 5.5 percent from 5.9 percent in
September according to the Bureau of Labor
Statistics. Year-to-date unemployment has dipped 25
percent, or 1800 basis points from the 7.3 percent
unemployment levels recorded at the beginning of the
year. Unemployment is at its all time low since
January of 2010, when we saw unemployment levels
nearly reach 10 percent. The unemployment rate is
determined by the ratio of the number of those who
have looked for work in the last four weeks compared
to the total number of workers including those
searching for employment.
The sectors significant in office leasing have
remained steady or up in the preliminary December
numbers. The Information sector has remained flat
throughout most of the year. Employment for
Financial Activities closed the year stronger than a
year ago (2011), with nearly 3 percent growth, and
over 2,700 jobs created in the sector. Professional
and Business Services have been stronger this year
than last, but that growth has waned this quarter. The
sector gained an impressive 5,500 jobs through
September (3 percent growth), but has lost 2,200 of
those jobs in recent months. Education and Health
Services is really beginning to gain momentum and
has added 2,500 jobs this quarter, (over 10,000 jobs
for the year), and is up 9.2 percent year over year.
Market Activity
The Columbus office market continued recovering in
most submarkets across the region in 2012. The
Central Business District (CBD) office fundamentals
tightened materially over 2012 with vacancy rates
dropping from 11 percent to 10.8 percent, while the
suburban office sector fundamentals tightened even
more, with vacancy rates dropping from 12.7 percent
to 11.6 percent. Colliers International tracks demand
for office space by tracking tenants in the market. The
average number of tenants in the market has
decreased slightly in fourth quarter 2012 from the
third quarter 2012, 81 to 72. However, there are
more tenants seeking large spaces than last quarter;
14 tenants are looking for more than 25,000 square
feet, and there are 23 tenants looking for 10,000 up
to 25,000 square feet of space.
Market Activity Volume is the sum of the absolute
value of each absorption change in the market, and it
tells us how much space was in transition in the
quarter. The market outlook remains optimistic as
office leasing activity posted an additional 703,046
square feet, which is higher than it has been in prior
fourth quarters when only 448,696 square feet on
average were in transition. Over 3,553,530 square
feet of space was in transition in 2012, down from
the 4 million square feet recorded in 2011.
The Columbus office market consists
of 15 suburban submarkets plus the
Central Business District submarket. The
Columbus region features a total of 63
million square feet, 43.7 million of which
is suburban. Colliers International office
dataset includes all 10,000 square foot,
Class A, B, and C buildings, not owned
and fully leased by the government.
Market Activity
sales activity
Property Address sales date sale price Size sf Buyer Seller Price / Sf Type Submarket
10 Building Portfolio 11/6/2012 $25,100,000 780,000 Amcor Holdings Inc. AEW Capital $32 B Northeast
4650 Lakehurst Court 12/6/2012 $25,300,000 164,600 Wells Core Income Reit Blackstone Group $153 A Dublin
4485 Northland Ridge Boulevard 12/3/2012 $26,650,000 263,068 Taurus Investment Holdings Realty Finance Partners $101 B North Central
445 Hutchinson Avenue 12/7/2012 $20,550,000 250,169 445 Hutchinson LLP Investors Group Blackstone Group $82 A Worthington
250 Civic Center Drive 11/27/2012 $6,100,000 113,309 Marconi Partners LLC Genworth Financial $53 A CBD
3401 Morse Crossing 12/12/2012 $8,928,000 85,094 JP Morgan Chase Bank Rb 3401 Morse LLC $106 B Easton
77-83 Outerbelt Street 10/24/2012 $695,000 12,200 Sama Management Group LLC 77-83 Outerbelt Street LLC $56.96 B Gahanna/Airport
11299 Stonecreek Drive 11/5/2012 $1,100,000 11,000 Stonecreek Professional Bldg. II LLC Holzer Wollam-Pickerington $83 B Southeast
Powell Polaris
Worthington
Westerville
New
Albany
Licking
County
Fairfield
County
Madison
County
Union County
Delaware
County
Pickaway County
Dublin
Bethel
Easton
East
Gahanna/
Airport
CBD
Hilliard
Southwest
Southeast
Arlington/
Grandview
North
Central
Lease activity
Property Address Sales Date Lease Sf tenant Asking price (NNN) Type Submarket
7525 West Campus Road 12/3/2012 50,545 iQor $11.95 A New Albany
2 Miranova Place 11/13/2012 42,606 Isaac Wiles Law Offices $13.50 A CBD
7795 Walton Parkway 12/14/2012 36,000 Sedgwick $14.95 A New Albany
4449 Easton Way 11/23/2012 18,314 Clark Schaefer $13.90 A Easton
565 S Metro Place 11/16/2012 16,830 Hylant Group $11.00 A Dublin
8800 Lyra Drive 10/24/2012 15,680 Chipotle Accounting $13.50 A Polaris
425 N Metro Place 10/24/2012 15,442 Navidea Biopharmaceuticals $10.95 B Dublin
630 Morrison Road 11/17/2012 10,417 Aerotek $10.95 A Gahanna
8800 Lyra Drive 10/9/2012 10,271 Camp Dresser & McKee $13.50 A Polaris
495 S Metro Place 10/31/2012 9,496 Pepper Construction $10.95 A Dublin
p. 2 | Colliers International
research & forecast report | Q4 2012 | Office | Greater Columbus Region

3. Vacancy
Two main factors are constraining office demand,
according to a report from Property and Portfolio, a
team of expert commercial real estate forecasters and
market financial analysts. First, the average amount of
office space leased by tenants has shrunk 21 percent
over the last 10 years in a fundamental shift in the way
companies use office space due to a variety of factors,
and secondly tenants are still expanding into leased
but under-utilized space. Although the Columbus office
vacancy rate decreased to 11.4 percent in the third
quarter, a full percentage point from a year ago, PPR
continues to expect the vacancy rate to fall another
1.8% nationwide through 2016 as supply diminishes and
the economy rebounds, by far the steepest drop among
commercial property types.
update Market Comparisons
office market
Net Absorption Construction Asking Rental Rates
Submarket Total SF Vacant SF Vacancy % Current Quarter Year-to-date Current Completions Class A ($) Class B ($)
CBD 19,597,350 2,094,578 10.8% 36,469 10,016 280,000 239,000 $18.52 $16.62
Arlington/Grandview 4,752,155 439,984 9.3% 34,754 123,254 $22.88 $15.98
Dublin 9,501,878 1,219,043 12.8% 1,982 27,422 $19.14 $15.86
East 3,691,158 529,733 14.4% (7,250) 17,995 $15.73 $12.92
Easton 2,685,332 226,457 8.4% 20,814 (59,823) $19.85 $18.00
Gahanna/Airport 1,262,031 74,034 5.9% 42,148 75,280 $17.17 $15.08
Hilliard 2,480,456 442,756 17.8% 8,998 46,927 11,000 $19.70 $16.30
New Albany 1,935,789 167,084 8.6% 22,043 51,544 100,000 156,500 $18.43
North Central 1,255,636 93,309 7.4% (9,491) (26,006) $15.00
Polaris 4,419,869 307,593 7.0% (32,643) (76,067) $19.45 $19.15
powell 273,719 30,356 11.1% 1,597 20,413 $16.57
Southeast 402,548 62,290 15.5% - (11,537)
Southwest 236,158 17,144 7.3% - 20,627 $16.95
WESTERVILLE 4,489,479 592,947 13.2% 16,477 50,542 $19.53 $15.57
WORTHINGTON 6,296,402 846,215 13.4% (42,436) 79,622 $18.49 $14.67
SUBURBAN TOTAL 43,682,610 5,048,945 11.6% 56,993 340,193 111,000 156,500 $19.05 $15.65
TOTAL 63,192,662 7,143,523 11.3% 93,462 350,209 391,000 395,500 $18.90 $15.93
Net Absorption Construction Asking Rental Rates
Property type Total SF Vacant SF Vacancy % Current Quarter Year-to-date Current Completions By Product Type
Class A 26,013,781 2,849,353 11.0% 54,449 (20,612) 388,000 395,500 $18.90
Class B 23,207,076 2,902,936 12.5% 33,676 230,926 11,000 - $15.93
Class C 13,881,805 1,391,234 10.0% 5,337 139,895 - $13.50
Totals 63,192,662 7,143,523 11.3% 93,462 350,209 391,000 395,500 $16.99
quarterly comparison and totals
Net Absorption Construction Asking Rental Rates
Quarter, year Total SF Vacant SF Vacancy % Current Quarter Year-to-date Current Completions By Product Type
Q3, 2012 63,051,662 7,188,414 11.4 246,232 174,114 457,000 - $19.16 $15.60
Q2, 2012 63,051,662 7,566,097 12.0 32,745 8,037 301,000 - $19.05 $15.67
Q1, 2012 63,040,960 7,598,842 12.1 (22,230) (22,230) 301,000 140,000 $18.79 $15.57
Q4, 2011 63,040,314 7,632,767 12.1 252,351 732,831 190,000 - $18.61 $15.47
Q3, 2011 63,040,314 7,885,118 12.5 284,581 480,480 190,000 - $18.58 $15.41
research & forecast report | Q4 2012 | Office | Greater Columbus Region
Colliers International | p. 3

4. Central Business District
The CBD incurred 36,469 square feet of positive
absorption. The 60,543 square feet of space that was
leased at Two Miranova Place this quarter was enough
to prevent a downturn this quarter. Isaac Wiles Law
Offices leased 42,606 square feet, and Pizzuti added
another 11,367 square feet. Title First moved out of
25,870 square feet at 555 S. Front Street after the
building fell into receivership.
Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., downtown Columbus’
largest private employer with 8,200 workers, now
occupies six buildings with a combined 2.6 million
square feet in and around the Arena District after its
recent completion of its 188,000 square foot building at
10 West Nationwide Boulevard. The Federal Bureau of
Investigation has also finished its 51,000 square foot
building at 425 West Nationwide Boulevard near
Huntington Park in the Arena District. The FBI occupies
44,926 square feet, but there is still 6,844 square feet
still available. The completion of these two projects
caps what’s been a tremendous year for the revitalized
district.
West Market
The west submarkets are Arlington/Grandview and
Hilliard. The Arlington/Grandview submarket posted
another strong quarter of positive absorption as over
34,754 square feet of positive absorption took place.
Numerous leases were signed at 2323 West Fifth
Avenue including a significant 14,629 square foot lease
signed by Manley Deas Kochalski.
North Columbus Market
The North submarkets are Dublin, Powell, Polaris,
North Central, Worthington and Westerville. The fourth
quarter storyline for the North submarket is the
immense amount of investment sales to trade. (See
Sales Activity on Page 2)
Dublin saw insignificant absorption of 1,982 square feet
which can be attributed to a number of significant
renewals that were signed, dropping the vacancy rate
from the previous quarter by 300 basis points. Hylant
Group leased 16,830 square feet at 565 South Metro
Place, Navidea Biopharmaceuticals leased 15,442
square feet at 425 North Metro Place, and Pepper
Construction leased 9,496 square feet at 495 South
Metro Place.
Powell and North Central saw slight absorption changes
and limited movement on the leasing side as most of
the transition came through an investment sale at 4485
Northland Ridge Boulevard. Realty Finance Partners
sold its 263,068 square foot building Taurus Investment
Holdings for $26.7 million ($101 per square foot).
Vacancy rates remain stable at 11.1 percent, after a high
of 22 percent in the second quarter.
Polaris and Westerville saw sizable changes from the
previous quarter as two notable leases transpired at
8800 Lyra Drive. Chipotle Accounting leased 15,680
square feet, and Camp Dresser & McKee leased 10,271
square feet. American Family Insurance downsized
out of its previous 57,697 square feet of space at 550
Polaris Parkway, causing 32,643 square feet of
negative absorption for the quarter. Westerville was
able to manage 16,477 square feet of positive absorption
despite multiple smaller vacancies.
Worthington had 42,436 square feet of negative
absorption after Molina Healthcare of Ohio moved out
of Northwoods II at 8101 High Street. Molina
Healthcare of Ohio will expand into the 160,000 square
foot building it purchased at 3000 Corporate Exchange
for $8.5 million. Blackstone continued to trim its
investment holdings as it sold its 250,169 square foot,
Class A office building located at 445 Hutchinson
Avenue for $20.5 million.
East Market
The east submarkets are the East side, Easton,
Gahanna/Airport and New Albany. These submarkets
have historically been among the most active, and have
continued that trend throughout most of 2012.
Absorption in Easton was positive as 20,814 square
feet of space traded. Clark Schaefer signed a 18,314
square foot lease at Easton Way One located at 4449
Easton Way. JP Morgan purchased a 85,094 square
foot office building that they previously had fully leased
located at 3401 Morse Crossing for $8.9 million ($106
per square foot). Gahanna posted strong figures as
Aerotek leased 10,417 square feet at 630 Morrison
Road. As mentioned earlier, New Albany remains the
focal point for new construction, as over 156,500
square feet of projects are in progress, and another two
hundred thousand are in the pipeline for future quarters.
New Albany recorded 22,043 of positive absorption, in
large part due to Sedgwick leasing 36,000 square feet
at Water’s Edge II.
Landlord/tenant
The types of tenants seen most frequently in the market
have been general medical, insurance, higher education,
law firms after mergers, and technology users. Tenants
still lack the urgency to close deals, due to short term
efficiency concerns, unwillingness to sign long term
leases, and speculation of lower net rental rates in
conjunction with higher opertaing expenses that we
have seen as of late. Overall costs to make a move, and
to build out space are more expensive than tenants are
willing to invest. Tenants are uncertain on the long term
stability of the economy. The reooccuring issue facing
landlords is creating a steady cashflow, especially for
landlords who want to renegotiate their debt, and to
offer significant concessions.
United States:
Greater Columbus Region
Richard B. Schuen SIOR CCIM
CEO | Principal | Columbus
Two Miranova Place
Suite 900
Columbus, Ohio 43215
tel +1 614 410 5612
Leslie Hobbs
Director of Marketing | Ohio
Two Miranova Place
Suite 900
Columbus, Ohio 43215
tel +1 614 410 5640
Jonathan Schuen
Research Analyst
Two Miranova Place
Suite 900
Columbus, Ohio 43215
tel +1 614 437 4495
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This document/email has been prepared by Colliers
International for advertising purposes. Colliers
International statistics and data are audited annually and
may result in revisions to previously reported quarterly
and final year-end figures. Sources include Columbus
Dispatch, Business First, Xceligent, CoStar, Chain Store
Age, Wall Street Journal, Bureau of Labor Statistics,
Bureau of Economic Analysis, Property and Portfolio,
Gallup and the Cleveland Federal Reserve.
www.colliers.com/columbus
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research & forecast report | Q4 2012 | Office | Greater Columbus Region