A new tower for Columbia?

[GvilleSC]

How much space would be abandoned on the market if Aflac and SCBT were to leave their current spaces for new digs? Aflac seems to have a pretty nice sized building, though it's in a terrible location relative to everything else. 

[krazeeboi]

Well Aflac was already searching for new space due to their expansion. I don't think SCBT would leave its current space, but retain it in addition to new HQ space. But the current headquarters is 56K sq ft. As for Aflac, as of last year it was operating out of a 50,000-square-foot office building at 2801 Devine St. that served as Continental’s home, and occupies about 55,000 square feet of the old AT&T building on Laurel.

[krazeeboi]

For some time now people have wondered when and where the next new office building will be built. 

It is still unclear when exactly construction on a new office building will begin but it is anticipated that 

build to suit opportunities will exist, likely in the suburbs, followed by speculative construction in the 

CBD. Successful leasing of a speculative office building will have the potential to spur further 

construction projects. An ongoing challenge continues to be the high lease rate required to generate 

a return on a newly constructed office building. As rental rates continue to increase, the large gap 

between current average asking rates and those required for newly constructed buildings will narrow, 

making new construction more feasible.

 

From the Q2013 office market report: http://www.colliers.com/~/media/files/United%20States/MARKETS/Columbia/WebForms/ColumbiaOfficeMarketReport2013Q3.ashx

[carolinagarnet]

Converting the old SCANA HQ to the Hub did a lot to lower the vacancy rate downtown, even if it wasn't Class A office space. Building a new tower in Columbia would require a large anchor tenant. This would have to be a large relocation from Charleston or Greenville (unlikely) or from out-of-state (slightly more likely). Aflac is still based in Columbus, GA, but I think generous incentives could eventually draw them to Columbia considering their subsidiary Colonial Life has a big presence here. Since Charlotte is almost always going to win bigger companies looking to relocate the urban locations in the Carolinas, I think Columbia should focus on consolidation of regional banks, insurance companies, and other South Carolina firms that are spread across the state. It's a much slower process that does not necessarily lend itself well to spec building, but it is probably the best approach for the city.

[krazeeboi]

I thought about a potential Aflac relocation myself, but another poster provided some information as to why that probably won't happen in this post.

 

I think the recently merged SCBT-First Financial Bank and Aflac could be the main tenants of a new office tower.