One New Park Pushed Palm Beach Industrial Vacancy to 9.0%. Outside Boynton Beach, the Market Tightened

Palm Beach County’s industrial vacancy rose to 9.0% in the third quarter, up 90 basis points from the second quarter, almost entirely because one large project, The District in Boynton Beach, delivered with most of its space still available, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s third-quarter report. The District adds about 520,000 square feet across seven buildings, and nearly 81% of it was available at quarter-end. Outside Boynton Beach, vacancy fell in nearly every submarket.

Two different stories in one number

Boynton Beach is now 25.2% vacant. Elsewhere the picture is far tighter: Lake Worth at 2.0%, Boca Raton at 2.2%, Riviera Beach at 5.2% and West Palm Beach at 5.8%. Jupiter recorded the county’s largest improvement, down 210 basis points, though at 21.4% it remains high. A tenant looking in central or southern Palm Beach County is facing a much tighter market than the 9.0% headline suggests.

Demand turned positive, with a caveat

Net absorption was about 85,500 square feet in the quarter, enough to bring the year back into positive territory at about 28,900 square feet. New leasing rose 47.1% from the second quarter to about 301,000 square feet, ending four straight quarters of decline, and 2026 renewals have passed 765,000 square feet, a post-pandemic high.

Read the absorption carefully. Nearly 100,000 square feet of the gain came from two recreational users moving into The District, The Brooks Racquet Club and American Twister. That is real occupancy, but it is not warehouse or logistics demand. Other move-ins included Ryan Friedman at 29,000 square feet and Snyder-Lance at 25,000 square feet. Notable leases in the quarter included a 177,000-square-foot Amazon renewal at 700 Banyan Trail in Boca Raton, CheeseBoarder taking 55,831 square feet at 1100 Old Dixie Highway in Riviera Beach, Architectural Surfaces Group taking 48,207 square feet at 1315 N. Jog Road and Airway Technologies taking 38,880 square feet at 6051 Southern Boulevard.

Rents: the average rose, but read why

The county’s average net asking rent rose 4.9% in the quarter to $14.45 per square foot, up 4.3% from a year ago and the highest in three years. Much of that jump came from The District’s asking rents of more than $20 per square foot entering the average. Outside Boynton Beach, Boca Raton was the only submarket with an annual increase, up 4.2% to $18.25. A rising county average does not mean an older building can command the same increase. Executed rents depend on the specific space, its concessions and its competition.

Supply is about to get scarce

Just over 400,000 square feet was under construction at quarter-end, a two-year low, all of it due by year-end and less than 13% still available. About 6.0 million square feet is proposed, but few projects have started, and 2027 is forecast to deliver one of the lowest totals since 2019. Cushman & Wakefield expects vacancy to trend down over the next 12 to 18 months. CBRE’s third-quarter report put county vacancy at 9.1% using a different building inventory and definitions. Both point the same direction.

Sales show what small buildings are worth

Two third-quarter sales illustrate the spread. A 105,000-square-foot building at 15132 Park of Commerce Boulevard in Jupiter sold for $19.3 million, about $188 per square foot. A 21,300-square-foot building at 3787 Boutwell Road in Lake Worth sold for $8.4 million, about $392 per square foot. Small, well-located buildings in tight submarkets continue to price far above large ones.

What this means for you

If you are a tenant, The District offers new space and room to negotiate, while the rest of the county does not. Compare total occupancy cost, not headline rent. If you own an older building, a tightening pipeline supports your position at renewal, but price against your real competitors. If you own a small building, the Lake Worth sale is a strong reminder of what owner-users and investors will pay.

AXCESS Commercial advises Palm Beach County owners and tenants on leasing, listing properties for sale and managing industrial buildings in every submarket covered here.

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