Burnaby leads building boom
Ashley Ford
Province
There is literally “no room at the office” in downtown Vancouver and the tight situation is forcing expansionist companies to either flee to the suburbs or split their operations and open a second location.
A combination of the rebirth of the inner city as “the place to live” and a vibrant provincial economy is forcing up leasing rates to dizzying heights downtown, says Colliers International in its latest office market report.
With downtown square- footage rates of $57 compared with as low as $24 in the ‘burbs, the appeal of fleeing the inner city is becoming more pronounced.
“With the addition of new transportation initiatives, such as the Canada Line, more tenants are continuing to consider a location in the suburbs more feasible,” it says.
Further, Collier says, there is very little chance of any major new office space becoming available in the downtown core in the immediate future.
The additions now under way on Bentall V on Burrard will result in 238,000 square feet of new space and the Jameson House Development on West Hastings will add another 75,000 square feet.
But that’s about all and it is simply not enough. The vacancy level in topline space is now well below five per cent and destined to tumble even further.
By comparison, Burnaby is leading the suburbs with 238,000 square feet of new development under way and the possibility of an additional 1.1 million square feet over the next few years.
Richmond is also adding to its inventory and the completion of the B.C. Institute of Technology aerospace technology campus early next year will add another 100,000 square feet of space.
At first glance it would appear that Surrey has a surfeit of vacant space with a vacancy rate of 8.3 per cent.
However, Shawna Rogowski, a researcher at Colliers, says it is primarily because a major building, the 259,400-square-foot 104 Avenue, remains unleased.
Despite plenty of interest in the building, the owners are looking for a major tenant, she said.
© The Vancouver Province 2006