Industrial space has long been difficult to find in Larimer County but has become scarcer than ever as the economy recovers, sometimes driving businesses to other parts of the state.

The market also has tightened in Weld County, where industrial space tends to be more plentiful.

When anyone might build more industrial space is the big question, though the timing, according to real estate brokers, could be good right now.

Larimer’s industrial vacancy rate at the moment is 9 percent. That sounds high but more than half of that space is located in the Rocky Mountain Center for Innovation and Technology in Loveland.

According to Steve Kawulok of Sperry Van Ness, the effective vacancy rate in Larimer is about 4 percent.

RMICT has five buildings with more than 100,000 square feet each. Aside from that, however, Larimer County has “only a couple” of buildings with 50,000 square feet or more available, according to Kawulok.

With space at a premium, industrial rents have gone up 10 to 15 percent over the last 18 months, Kawulok said, and are now hovering around $7 per square foot.

The bigger consequence? Companies that have been located in Larimer County