Back From the Brink: The Comeback of Office Tower Submarkets
A new pan-European study by Colliers finds that office tower districts in major European cities are enjoying a revival.
Many of these areas were planned more than 20 years ago around the working patterns of the time: busy offices every day, large corporate occupiers and a clear divide between work and city life. Their recovery today rests on different foundations. Rather than acting purely as employment centres, most are being planned or reshaped as mixed-use districts where offices sit alongside homes, leisure, culture and public space.
Colliers examined 11 tower submarkets, from central to edge-of-city locations, and grouped them into four types:
• Office-dominated: CTBA and AZCA in Madrid • In transition: Frankfurt's Bankenviertel, Warsaw's City Center West, Canary Wharf, the City of London and La Défense in Paris • Planned mixed-use: Porta Nuova in Milan, Zuidas in Amsterdam and Donau City in Vienna • Strong urban mix: Dublin's Docklands
Most of these districts are seeing solid or rising leasing activity and low or falling vacancy, with eight of the 11 recording vacancy below their city average.
The study looks at each area's history, location, occupier base, degree of mixed-use integration and future plans, alongside leasing, pipeline, rents and vacancy. Colliers concludes that Europe's tower districts are adapting to stay relevant, with competitiveness increasingly determined by excellent transport links, strong sustainability credentials and high-quality amenities that benefit both city life and employees.
