Companies eyeing Puerto Rico as a new market opportunity or looking to expand what is already here can rely on the experts at Christiansen & Portela to help them find the most suitable office space or property for their operation. “We are ready to meet the needs of both local and multinational corporations doing business in Puerto Rico,” said principal Rafael Portela. “We are one of the few, if not the only company of our kind here that works exclusively with the commercial and industrial sectors and we like to see ourselves as a niche player in a very specific market.”

Portela pointed out that these days, because many companies are looking for more efficient office space, they are moving from older buildings to those that can be more easily wired for high technology and communications capabilities, as well as accommodate more people per square foot. “It used to be that a typical service company would occupy 250 square feet per employee,” he said. “That model has since been adjusted to 175-150 square feet.” He added that because of this higher density, more parking is needed as well. “When we started out in this business, we talked about 2 parking spaces per 1,000 square feet of space,” he said. “Today, companies want 5 or 6 parking spaces for that same amount.”

Within the San Juan metro area, which generally includes downtown Hato Rey, Guaynabo, Santurce, Old San Juan and Río Piedras, there are approximately 8 million square feet of office space (excluding government offices and inferior-quality Class-C buildings). According to principal Gerald Christiansen, the local market moves in cyclical periods. “Once vacancies start increasing, increases in rent begin to slow down and this typically precludes the construction of new office buildings,” he said. “During new construction, which we call the expansionary period, you’ll see the absorption of office space.” He explained that the absorption rate is the amount of additional space that is occupied on a yearly basis. “That does not include a tenant moving from one building to another,” he said. “That is only considered to be a location shift, with very little or no additional space being occupied.”

While he pointed out that the average absorption rate has historically been between 150,000 and 200,000 square feet per year, this number is shrinking as the result of a number of factors. “Given the trends toward modular furniture, cubicles, and more efficient designs, office space is shrinking,” said Portela. “The other thing affecting the absorption rate is the tendency of many major stateside companies to maintain their back-offices outside Puerto Rico.” He also said advanced communications technology, the growing popularity of outsourcing, as well as changes in the local government’s policy for use of privately owned office space have also contributed to the decrease in the absorption rate. “We are probably at about 125,000 square feet per year, and that is optimistic at best,” he said.

Given that more companies, from local businesses to large Fortune 500 corporations are looking to either start afresh or move from outdated facilities into modern high-end space-efficient offices, Christiansen & Portela is in the process of meeting those needs with a number of projects. This includes the DASE building, which is in Los Frailes sector of Guaynabo and is nearing completion this year. A five-level office building consisting of 124,426 square feet of rentable space (25,603 sq. ft per floor), Portela said pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson is already slated as DASE’s major tenant, with the company planning to use the facility to centralize its operations. “However, we still have more than 25,000 square feet on the top floor available,” he said. “This penthouse floor has a very high ceiling, which makes it doubly attractive.” DASE also features an adjacent parking garage with 559 spaces and additional surface parking for 89 cars.

GAM Tower in San Patricio is another successful endeavor, which Portela pointed out is also in a convenient location within walking distance of San Patricio Plaza. Located on Tabonuco Street in Guaynabo, the 6-story 63,000-square-foot building contains a ground floor lobby area and five office floors, as well as an adjacent 1,180-vehicle parking garage—approximately three parking spaces per 1,000 square feet. With the local Insurance Commissioner’s Office and Island Finance already in the process of occupying space there, GAM Tower still has approximately 13,000 square feet available.

City View Plaza II, which is currently under construction on PR165 next to City View Plaza I (which is already completed and totally leased), caters to those who are looking for that suburban feel. “This property is designed to be a fully serviced community all to itself,” said Christiansen. Featuring 202,000 square feet of office and retail space set in a low-stress pleasant environment, the property will be inaugurated in 2007 and will include, in addition to state-of-the-art office space, an array of restaurants, stores, banking facilities, a gym, a barbershop, and other amenities and services that offer tenants and their employees the convenience of remaining on the premises all day without having to go elsewhere for lunch, shopping, or other needs. “Another great thing about this property is that it has 5-6 parking spaces per 1,000 square feet,” he added and said that his firm is currently negotiating with a major player to accommodate approximately 70,000 square feet of space.

Slated for 2008, the Fundación Carvajal Office Building, which will be located across from Guaynabo’s Centro Bellas Artes facility, will contain seven floors of approximately 17,000 square feet each, which can be occupied by a single tenant or subdivided into smaller offices. According to Christiansen, the design of the structure maximizes the flexibility of the floor plan’s interior layout by keeping the number of interior columns at a minimum and placing the main structure along the building’s perimeter. This in turn provides an uninterrupted view of the surroundings on the north side, while the west and south sides are protected from the afternoon sun with fixed sunscreen devices that will help maintain a comfortable atmosphere within the office areas.

In addition, the ground level will contain 3,350 square feet of commercial space, with direct pedestrian access to Las Cumbres Avenue. Eight parking levels will be located below the office building, with independent stairs and the office building’s high-speed elevators interconnecting all levels. With a parking ratio of five spaces per 1,000 square feet, the parking facility will include 601 large spaces, 13 spaces for people with disabilities, and 6 for service and delivery. The facilities will also have sprinklers, a 100% emergency backup generator, a water cistern with a capacity for one week’s use, and a central air-conditioning system located on the building’s roof.

For those who want something more unique and intimate, La Giralda, which both Christiansen and Portela call their “jewel” property, is located on the corner of José Martí Street and Miramar Avenue in the traditional Miramar sector of San Juan. Consisting of a 2-story building that was constructed in 1905 and 6 on-site parking spaces, the property was restored, renovated and converted into a modern office facility in 1995 without affecting the site’s original charm. The building itself, which totals approximately 6,673 square feet, consists of 5,352 square feet of office space and 1,321 square feet of balcony area. The site is also supported by a 600-gallon water cistern, a 30 KVA emergency generator with a diesel tank and automatic transfer switch, as well as a full fire / smoke alarm system and exterior lights.