How does downtown Orlando's ~80% utilization compare to other U.S. markets?

Downtown Orlando's approximately 80% utilization recovery — measuring actual office occupancy against pre-pandemic baseline, not just lease occupancy — places it meaningfully above most major U.S. peer cities. New York's Midtown core has recovered to approximately 70–75% of pre-pandemic utilization. Los Angeles downtown sits near 60–65%. Chicago's Loop is in the 65–70% range. San Francisco's financial district is the outlier at 40–55%, reflecting the concentrated technology sector displacement from downtown. Orlando's above-average recovery reflects several structural differences: a smaller pre-pandemic downtown office base (less exposure to mass-exodus tech employment), a warmer climate that supports in-person work culture more easily than Northern cities, and the absence of the transit dependency (long subway commutes) that made downtown recovery harder in New York and Chicago. The 80% utilization is also consistent with the lower downtown vacancy rate for Class A space — though the B/C vacancy downtown remains elevated, the Class A buildings that attract tenants with superior specs are running closer to 85% of pre-pandemic utilization.