Nike is leaving its 280,000-square-foot office space in Sunset Corridor at the Tektronix campus in Beaverton.
According to a report from the real estate firm JLL Capital Markets, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has led to a rapid decline in demand for office space not seen in past recessions.
"A growing number of small to medium companies have let their leases expire while much of their workforce is still working from home," added the firm.
Nike — the largest private company based in Oregon — moved out of two offices, an 84,000-square-foot space at 14200 S.W. Karl Braun Drive and 195,000-square-foot space at 2540 S.W. Alan Blumlein Way, according to the Portland Business Journal.
About 15% of Portland-area office space are currently vacant, JLL says, though there have been "substantial" leases signed signed across the region, including a major lease by Microsoft, which plans to move into 84,000-square-foot space in Hillsboro.
Leases like this highlight the Portland-area's potential to provide office space to tech companies, JLL said.
The report added, the Microsoft deal and others in the area "highlighted the metro's position as a competitive alternative to its larger West Coast neighbors, which are experiencing a comparatively worse fallout from the pandemic."
JLL predicts in its report that vacancy is expected to continue rising with Nike vacating another 200,000 square foot office and flex space in 2021 and a number of sublease availabilities turning vacant.
