About a quarter of downtown San Diego’s office space is sitting unused, according to third quarter data from CBRE, which says the area is in a transition period as companies and investors alike reassess their needs.

Matt Carlson, CBRE’s executive vice president and co-head of U.S. office capital markets, said the Q3 vacancy rate was in the high 20% range, with future availability in the low 30s. He said a healthy vacancy rate would typically fall into the single digits. However, he did caveat this by saying some downtown buildings included in the numbers are being turned into residential space or hotels.

“We’ve seen the urban centers and the West Coast all be slower to return back to their pre-pandemic normal,” Carlson said.

Downtown San Diego is no different, he said. Fewer employees a

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