The Columbus office market gained positive absorption for the fourth consecutive quarter. The vacancy rate is now 11.7%, and construction continues with several large projects starting. Rental rates have increased slightly for Class A and B spaces over the past quarter. The largest new leases were Cardinal Health expanding 61,128 sq ft and the FBI leasing 44,926 sq ft. The unemployment rate rose to 6.4% but remains lower than in previous years.

1. Office Trends Report
Greater Columbus Region
www.colliers.com/columbus
Office Occupancy Mirrors Job Growth
Columbus region overview
The Columbus office market gained 162,701 square feet of positive absorption in the first quarter. This is the
fourth quarter in a row of positive absorption, as six of the past seven quarters have resulted in positive gains
for the region. The vacancy rate now stands at 11.7 percent. Construction continues to pick up, as building has
begun at Bob Evans 160,000 square foot headquarters at 8111 Smith’s Mill Road in New Albany, as well as the
280,000 square foot Columbia Gas of Ohio building at 240 West Nationwide Blvd in the Arena District. The
188,000 square foot Nationwide Mutual Insurance headquarters, in conjuction with the 51,000 square foot FBI
headquarters at 425 West Nationwide Boulevard in the Arena District were recently completed. Nationwide
fully occupies their building, while the FBI occupies 44,926 square feet of its 51,000 square foot building.
Franklin County Children’s Services completed construction on its 103,000 square foot Class A space located
at 4071 East Main St. in the East submarket.
Forecasts and Reflections
• Investment sales will continue to be a big storyline in 2013, as the first quarter showed no signs of a slowdown.
Duke Realty, a public investment REIT with $674 million of commercial properties in Columbus, continues to
dispose of its suburban Class A office assets. Atrium I, located at 5525 Parkcenter Drive in Dublin, recently
sold for $43.9 million. The 315,102 square foot Atrium I is fully occupied by Nationwide Insurance. Easton III,
located at 3344 Morse Crossing in Easton, recently sold for $18.9 million. The 135,482 square foot Easton III
is the headquarters for Lane Bryant. Both assets sold for $139 per square foot, and were acquired by Chamber
Street Properties, a private investment trust valued at $142 million for its Columbus commercial properties.
• The largest new lease transactions of 2013 were Cardinal Health expanding 61,128 square feet at 6000
Parkwood Place; FBI leasing 44,926 square feet at 425 West Nationwide Blvd; and Casto leasing 37,075
square feet at 250 Civic Center Drive.
Asking Rates and
AVailabilities
Rental rates have
increased over the
course of the past
quarter, as Class A full
service rates increased
from $19.20 to $19.27,
while Class B full
service rates rose from
$15.93 to $16.07.
Operating expenses saw
an average increase of
$0.33 in 2012, and the
trend has continued in
2013 after posting a
$0.05 uptick. The
vacancy rate remained
at 11.7 percent in the
first quarter.
market indicators
Rental Rates
Q1
2013
Q2
2013*
Vacancy
Net absorption
construction
Rental Rates —
*Projected trend for next quarter
Q1 2013 | 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
1Q
13
Class A Rental Rates Class B
0.0%
2.0%
4.0%
6.0%
8.0%
10.0%
12.0%
14.0%
16.0%
(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
1Q
13
Completions Absorption Vacancy Rate
Absorption, Completions, and Vacancy Rates

2. Market Activity
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 1,558,845 square feet,
which is higher than it has been in prior first quarters
when only 807,838 square feet on average were in
transition. Colliers International tracks demand for
office space by tracking tenants in the market. The
average number of tenants in the market has increased
dramatically in first quarter of 2013 from the fourth
quarter 2012, 72 to 83. 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 31 tenants looking for 10,000 up to
25,000 square feet of space.
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 operating 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 reoccuring issue facing
landlords is creating a steady cashflow, especially for
landlords who want to renegotiate their debt, and to
offer significant concessions.
Employment data
The preliminary unemployment rate for Columbus in
February rose to 6.4 percent from 5.5 percent in
December according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Unemployment is still significantly better than 2010
when we saw unemployment levels nearly reach 10
percent. Year-over-year unemployment has dipped 13
percent, or 800 basis points from the 7.2 percent
unemployment levels recorded at the beginning of
February of 2012. Columbus was the second ranked
city in the country in terms of job creation for the first
quarter of 2013. Currently, the rest of Ohio is 110 basis
points below the national average, and has not fared as
well as Columbus in terms of job growth and recovery.
The sectors significant in office leasing have remained
steady or down in the preliminary February numbers.
The Information sector has remained flat throughout
the first quarter. Employment for Financial Activities
closed the year strong in 2012, but has not performed
well in 2013 after posting a 2 percent decline, and a
loss of 400 jobs in the sector. Professional and
Business Services continue to compress after losing
2,200 jobs for the second consecutive quarter.
Education and Health Services are really beginning to
gain momentum and has added 700 jobs this quarter,
up 2 percent since fourth quarter.
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, 43.3 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
5525 Parkcenter Circle 3/15/2013 $43,900,000 315,102 Chamber Street Properties Duke Realty $139 A Dublin
3344 Morse Crossing 3/15/2013 $18,900,000 135,485 Chamber Street Properties Duke Realty $139 A Easton
250 East Town Street 2/27/2013 $1,800,000 22,400 Franklin University CBC Companies Inc. $80 C CBD
1501-1509 Stonecreek Drive 2/25/2013 $1,325,000 15,611 Parkway Center LLC Stonecreek Office LLC $85 B Southeast
5757 Beechcroft Road 1/11/2013 $925,000 13,490 C3H Ltd. Beechcroft Partners LLC $69 B Worthington
673 Mohawk Street 1/14/2013 $830,000 13,250 Mohawk Village Properties LLC Pandiatonic Properties LLC $63 B CBD
540 North Cleveland Avenue 1/28/2013 $796,800 10,624 Barksdale LLC Altair Professional Village $75 B Polaris
423 East Town Street 2/28/2013 $690,000 9,382 Downtown Technology Center Cap Cit Ltd. $74 C CBD
6209 Riverside Drive 2/22/2013 $595,000 7,344 Hilltop 6209 LLC Signature Investments $81 C Dublin
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
6000 Parkwood Place 3/27/2013 61,128 Cardinal Health (Expansion) $12.50 A Dublin
425 West Nationwide Boulevard 1/1/2013 44,926 FBI $16.50 A CBD
250 Civic Center Drive 3/1/2013 37,075 Casto $11.50 B CBD
100 Old Wilson Bridge Road 1/1/2013 30,000 Worthington Industries $8.00 B Worthington
2228 CityGate Drive 3/8/2013 17,028 Zulily $9.95 B East
7277 Smith's Mill Road 1/7/2013 11,470 White Fence Surgical Suites $17.95 A New Albany
525 Metro Place North 1/9/2013 10,806 Via Quest $8.00 B Dublin
1600 Dublin Road 3/18/2013 10,000 Time Warner (Expansion) $11.50 B Arlington/Grandview
7450 Huntington Park Drive 1/30/2013 9,940 Quantum (Expansion) $10.95 B Worthington
8000 Walton Parkway 1/24/2013 7,500 Ohio Health $14.95 A New Albany
p. 2 | Colliers International
research & forecast report | Q1 2013 | Office | Greater Columbus Region

3. Office Medical Construction
Medical office construction as picked up as two new
projects recently began. Ohio Health will be a 35,000
square foot anchor tenant for a 45,000 square foot
building at 4343 All Seasons Drive in Hilliard; while
Central Ohio Primary Care began construction on its
22,500 square foot buiding at 4895 Olentangy River
Road in the Arlington/Grandview submarket.
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 19,343,367 2,193,852 11.3% 155,103 155,103 280,000 $19.48 $16.80
Arlington/Grandview 4,853,288 462,112 9.5% 29,872 29,872 22,500 $22.88 $16.71
Dublin 9,325,430 1,369,476 14.6% (150,992) (150,992) $19.02 $15.93
East 3,869,477 508,453 13.1% 15,450 15,450 103,000 $15.65 $12.85
Easton 2,705,095 224,450 8.3% 2,007 2,007 $20.28 $18.00
Gahanna/Airport 1,235,246 82,687 6.6% (8,653) (8,653) $18.33 $16.24
Hilliard 2,361,083 390,593 16.5% 52,163 52,163 56,000 $20.00 $16.37
New Albany 1,880,057 188,793 10.0% 42,000 42,000 160,000 $18.30
North Central 1,147,668 123,723 10.7% (30,414) (30,414) $12.98
Polaris 4,405,927 316,730 7.1% (9,137) (9,137) $19.44 $19.39
powell 273,589 32,244 11.7% (1,888) (1,888) $16.42
Southeast 434,658 62,290 14.3% - -
Southwest 219,119 15,770 7.2% 1,374 1,374 $15.32
WESTERVILLE 4,383,103 553,177 12.6% 65,786 65,786 $19.37 $15.70
WORTHINGTON 6,240,847 862,269 13.8% 30 30 $18.64 $15.01
SUBURBAN TOTAL 43,345,289 5,192,767 11.9% 7,598 340,193 238,500 103,000 $19.17 $15.50
TOTAL 62,688,656 7,386,619 11.7% 162,701 162,701 518,500 103,000 $19.27 $15.91
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 26,589,427 3,135,327 11.7% 53,114 53,114 507,500 103,000 $19.27
Class B 22,401,293 2,864,800 12.7% 102,530 102,530 11,000 - $15.91
Class C 13,697,936 1,386,492 10.1% 7,057 7,057 - - $13.40
Totals 62,688,656 7,386,619 11.7% 162,701 162,701 518,500 103,000 $17.20
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
Q4, 2012 63,192,662 7,143,523 11.7 93,462 350,209 391,000 395,000 $18.90 $15.93
Q3, 2012 63,051,662 7,188,414 11.8 246,232 174,114 457,000 - $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
research & forecast report | Q1 2013 | Office | Greater Columbus Region
Colliers International | p. 3

4. Central Business District
The CBD incurred 155,103 square feet of positive
absorption. The vacancy rate now stands at 11.3
percent, and should continue to trend downward as
prime downtown space continues to be in high demand.
The 188,000 square feet of space that was filled by
Nationwide Mutual Insurance in their new building at 10
West Nationwide Blvd was enough to prevent a
downturn this quarter. Casto leased 37,075 square
feet of class A space at Bicentennial Plaza, located at
250 Civic Center Drive. Downtown Columbus
continues to see a considerable amount of transition as
State Auto recently moved out of 40,533 square feet of
space at 580 Fourth St., and relocated into 53,719
square feet of space at 175 South Third St. The FBI
vacated 24,690 square feet of space at 500 South
Front, and now occupies 44,478 square feet of the
51,000 square foot Class A building recently completed
at 425 West Nationwide Blvd. Regus expanded into an
additional 7,936 square feet of space at the Galleria,
located at 20 South Third St.
West Market
The west submarkets are Arlington/Grandview and
Hilliard. The Arlington/Grandview submarket
experienced another quarter of strong positive
absorption as 29,872 square feet of space was filled.
Time Warner expanded its operations by an additional
10,000 square feet. Notable leases were signed at
2200 Fifth Ave (9,031 square feet), 5005 Horizon’s
Drive (5,000 square feet), and 1175 Dublin Road (4,390
square feet). Hilliard’s vacancy fell from 17.8 percent to
16.5 percent, 130 basis points, after posting 52,163
square feet of positive absorption. The majority of the
absoprtion can be credited to Open Text leasing 33,528
square feet of space in the Mill Run Business Park at
3651 Ridge Mill Drive.
North Columbus Market
The North submarkets are Dublin, Powell, Polaris,
North Central, Worthington and Westerville. The first
quarter storyline for the North submarket is the
immense amount of relocations by Fortune 500 firms
such as Cardinal Health, Nationwide Mutual Insurance,
and Verizon Communications.
Dublin saw sizable negative absorption of 150,992
square feet which can be attributed to Nationwide
Mutual Insurance vacating 165,000 square feet of
space at 5900 Parkwood Place. The Dublin vacancy
rate now stands at 14.6 percent, a 180 basis point
increase from the previous quarter. Wendy’s corporate
offices have moved out of 5555 Parkcenter Circle after
their temporary 28,383 square foot lease expired.
Cardinal Health’s 61,128 square foot expansion at 6000
Parkwood Place was the highlight of the quarter. Via
Quest leased 11,340 square feet at 525 Metro Place.
Powell and North Central saw slight absorption changes
and limited movement on the leasing side as most of
the transition came through a series of move outs.
Vacancy rates remain stable at 11.7 percent, after a high
of 22 percent in the second quarter of 2012.
Polaris and Westerville saw sizable changes from the
previous quarter as many notable leases transpired.
General Dynamics, Integrated Installations, and
Willsbros Engineers collectively leased 13,434 square
feet of space at Spectrum Commerce Center located at
921 Eastwind Drive. Molina Healthcare purchased
3000 Corporate Exchange last quarter, and Iqor no
longer occupies space. Malcolm Pirnie moved out of
14,244 square feet of Class A space at 1900 Polaris
Parkway, causing 9,137 square feet of negative
absorption for the quarter. Westerville was able to
manage 65,786 square feet of positive absorption
despite multiple smaller vacancies.
Worthington had 30 square feet of positive absorption
after Clark Schaeffer and Brookfield Insurance moved
out of 27,582 square feet of space at Two Crosswoods
Center located at 150 East Campus View Blvd. CT
Consulants leased 10,274 square feet of space at
Northwoods I, located at 7965 High Street; while
Quantum expanded by 9,940 square feet of space at
Five Crosswoods, located at 7450 Huntington Park
Drive. Worthington Industries has moved into 30,000
square feet of space at 100 Old Wilson Bridge Road.
East Market
The east submarkets are the East side, Easton,
Gahanna/Airport, and New Albany. These submarkets
have historically been among the most active, but
recorded a slow first quarter. Absorption in Easton
was positive as 2,007 square feet of space traded.
Mast Global signed a 6,084 square foot lease at 4100
Regent St. Gahanna posted 8,653 square feet of
negative absorption. As mentioned earlier, New Albany
remains the focal point for new construction, as over
160,00 square feet of projects are in progress, and
another two hundred thousand are in the pipeline for
future quarters. New Albany recorded 42,000 of
positive absorption, in large part due to Maximus and
Mount Vernon Nazarene taking 28,647 square feet of
Class A space at 5150 Dublin Granville Road.
Vacancy
The Columbus office market continued recovering in
most submarkets across the region in the first quarter
of 2013. The Central Business District (CBD) office
fundamentals tightened materially with vacancy rates
dropping from 11.4 percent to 11.34 percent, while the
suburban office sector fundamentals tightened even
more, with vacancy rates dropping from 12 percent to
11.9 percent.
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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and final year-end figures. Sources include Columbus
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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 | Q1 2013 | Office | Greater Columbus Region