The New American Ghost Town: Suburban Office Parks

Suburban office parks are achieving the status of ghost towns in the Washington, D.C. area.

2 minute read

July 22, 2015, 8:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


"There are 71.5 million square feet of vacant office space in the Washington region, much of it piled in office parks. That’s enough emptiness to fill the Mall four times over, with just enough left to fill most of the Pentagon, the granddaddy of office buildings," reports Dan Zak.

Zak adds: "If office space was a commodity, we would make a killing by selling our excess in bulk to San Francisco, where it’s so scarce and costly, according to Quartz, that start-up employees are starting to work in shopping malls."

The article is an in-depth look at the suburban office park, with anecdotes of specific examples of vacant office buildings from the Washington D.C. described in colorful detail as modern ghost towns. The article also goes way, way back in tracing the roots of the suburban office park—all the way back to Thomas Jefferson's writings about the American distrust of cities.

The trends in suburban office parks also run counter to the more common narratives about the Washington D.C. area: of a rapidly gentrifying urban core, of expanding transit system, and of worsening car commutes. Rather, according to Zak: "Factor in the D.C. region’s net outward migration, its slowing growth rate and the government erosion wrought by sequestration, and you’ve got a problem.The office-market artery of Interstate 270 is shriveling, according to a June report prepared for the Montgomery County Planning Department. Last year, federal agencies vacated 7,315 buildings, abandoning 47 million square feet of office and warehouse space, Federal News Radio says."

Monday, July 20, 2015 in The Washington Post

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 2, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Aerial view of town of Wailuku in Maui, Hawaii with mountains in background against cloudy sunset sky.

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly

Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

July 1, 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

Person wearing mask walking through temporary outdoor dining setup lined with bistro lights at dusk in New York City.

Restaurant Patios Were a Pandemic Win — Why Were They so Hard to Keep?

Social distancing requirements and changes in travel patterns prompted cities to pilot new uses for street and sidewalk space. Then it got complicated.

June 19, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Large building under construnction in downtown Charlottesville, Virginia at sunset.

Charlottesville Temporarily Has No Zoning Code

A judge ordered the Virginia city to throw out its newly revised zoning code, leaving permitting for new development in legal limbo.

15 minutes ago - Charlottesville Tomorrow

Aerial view of new neifhborhood under construction with enpty lots in foreground.

In California Battle of Housing vs. Environment, Housing Just Won

A new state law significantly limits the power of CEQA, an environmental review law that served as a powerful tool for blocking new development.

July 2 - CALmatters

Low-rise Pearl Sreet mall in Boulfer, Colorado.

Boulder Eliminates Parking Minimums Citywide

Officials estimate the cost of building a single underground parking space at up to $100,000.

July 2 - Boulder Reporting Lab