The Ann Arbor Area Chamber of Commerce - citing excess capacity in its downtown office - is listing the space for sublease.

The chamber moved into the facilities in 2007 on the third floor of the Glazier Building, also known as the KeyBank building at 115 W. Huron at South Main Street - after an extensive search under former Chamber President Jesse Bernstein.

“Right now we have more space than is totally necessary,” said John Hansen, interim director of the chamber.

Either all or part of the 6,300-square-foot space could be sublet, Hansen said.

Commercial real estate agent Newcombe Clark of Bluestone Realty Advisors - who's a member of the Downtown Development Authority and chamber board - will represent the chamber on a pro bono basis.

The asking lease rate will be about $18.50 per square foot, Clark said. Also possible will be taking part of the space since “we can consolidate into a smaller area on the floor … We just have too much space.”

He continued: “We’re figuring out exactly what we need for our uses.”

The excess space represents a change in chamber dynamics since the deal was struck in 2007, Clark said.

“When the deal was done, there were different expectations of growth in the organization,” Clark said. 

Membership is about 1,250, down from about 1,350 a year ago.

Hansen did not have the lease rate available, but said facilities costs are the second-highest expense in the chamber’s $1 million annual operating budget, behind payroll. About a dozen people work in the office.

The move to list the space makes the best sense for the chamber today, Hansen said, and the board had discussed it for some time.

"We're better off if the money is used for programs for members to add value for (them)," Hansen said.

Market conditions will drive the likelihood of finding a tenant to take the entire space, Hansen added.

Clark said downtown office vacancy remains stable since year-end 2008, when it was about 13 percent. However, he said, the average lease rate has fallen up to 30 percent as economic conditions continue to soften.

The 41,000-square-foot Glazier Building is owned by Dahlman Properties of Ann Arbor. The company recently renovated the building as the chamber prepared to move in.

File photo of the Glazier building in 2007.