by King White, on May 18, 2021 1:23:51 PM
Almost 1,000 vacated call centers are available across the U.S. as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic shift more jobs to work-from-home and certain industries, like hospitality, remain severely impacted. These facilities add up to over 47 million square feet of call center space that is available for lease or sublease.
Surprisingly, only about 2 million square feet of vacant call center facilities has been added to the market since April 2020 right after COVID-19 hit. To help you develop a site selection strategy, Site Selection Group evaluated the availability of call center facilities across the United States utilizing its proprietary database of vacated call center facilities.
Availability by vacated call center facility size
Based on Site Selection Group’s data, there are 982 vacated call center buildings currently available in the U.S. The condition of these facilities varies significantly. Many of these sites have furniture and generators in place while others are stripped down to basically open office space. Some are available for short-term subleases whiles others will require a longer lease. The following graph summarizes site availability by square footage:
Regional trends
The Southeast and Southwest regions have the largest amount of vacated call center space available. These regions also are the most locationally active for new call center projects due to their lower labor costs and more attractive business climates. The following graph summarizes availability by region:
Availability by state
There is more than 47 million square feet of vacated call center space available. Texas and Florida have the greatest availability. States with a higher population and more metro areas will typically have a larger amount of vacated call centers. Other notable states include Arizona, which has historically had one of the highest concentrations of call centers in Phoenix. The following table identifies which states have the greatest number of call center buildings and capacity available.
Vacated Call Center Facilities by State (Ranked by Total Square Feet)
| State | Vacated Call Center Facilities | Total Call Center Space (Square Feet) |
| Texas | 137 | 7,310,478 |
| Florida | 114 | 5,546,986 |
| Arizona | 70 | 3,641,394 |
| South Carolina | 26 | 1,799,217 |
| Ohio | 39 | 1,662,503 |
| Michigan | 30 | 1,592,537 |
| Georgia | 33 | 1,560,737 |
| North Carolina | 34 | 1,436,681 |
| Utah | 24 | 1,298,754 |
| Colorado | 24 | 1,297,194 |
| Nevada | 24 | 1,211,625 |
| Pennsylvania | 23 | 1,204,245 |
| California | 24 | 1,171,579 |
| Illinois | 32 | 1,100,555 |
| Tennessee | 23 | 1,021,815 |
| New York | 16 | 1,002,830 |
| Missouri | 20 | 987,833 |
| Wisconsin | 21 | 953,239 |
| Virginia | 21 | 940,371 |
| Oklahoma | 14 | 854,021 |
| Kansas | 23 | 808,106 |
| Indiana | 20 | 759,417 |
| Washington | 20 | 743,172 |
| Iowa | 13 | 731,024 |
| Nebraska | 13 | 591,900 |
| Kentucky | 15 | 585,941 |
| New Mexico | 10 | 577,673 |
| Massachusetts | 12 | 499,416 |
| Louisiana | 16 | 470,014 |
| Oregon | 8 | 427,739 |
| South Dakota | 9 | 425,386 |
| Maryland | 9 | 417,857 |
| Connecticut | 7 | 395,113 |
| Alabama | 12 | 369,067 |
| Delaware | 5 | 337,271 |
| Minnesota | 8 | 304,766 |
| Maine | 7 | 238,246 |
| Mississippi | 4 | 201,166 |
| Montana | 3 | 160,221 |
| Idaho | 6 | 115,516 |
| Arkansas | 5 | 107,947 |
| West Virginia | 6 | 100,164 |
| New Hampshire | 1 | 35,000 |
| North Dakota | 1 | 21,454 |
Conclusions
The COVID-19 pandemic has created new challenges for which the call center industry was unprepared. The geographic dispersion of call center capacity will probably never be the same. Whether you migrate more agents to work-at-home or to new geographies, it is critical that you develop a call center site selection strategy that will best serve your customers. For additional information on available vacated call center facilities, please contact Site Selection Group.
Source: Site Selection Group, LLC
