Cleveland Industrial Market Report

Older buildings weigh on vacancy. As companies upgrade operations, modern spaces with automation capabilities are being favored, reflected in the 90 percent pre-leasing of 2024’s construction pipeline as of this February. As such, older buildings will continue to pressure the metro’s vacancy rate, despite some obsolete properties being acquired for reuse. Nautica Entertainment, for instance, has proposed an indoor concert venue at the former Globe Iron Works site on the west bank of The Flats, which would redevelop the historic building and demolish nearby unoccupied structures. More manufacturer expansions into new or upgrade spaces, similar to Ford’s ongoing $1.5 million investment in its Ohio Assembly Plant to include EV production, may follow as the resolution of the autoworkers’ strike has renewed sector confidence.