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Oct 27, 2011 7:26 PM |
Quote:
Suburban Vancouver office market driven by rapid transit: report
Jones Lang LaSalle notes that offices near SkyTrain and Canada Line have lower vacancies, higher rents
By BRIAN MORTON, Vancouver SunOctober 18, 2011
In Richmond, the commercial vacancy rate near the Canada Line is well below half that in the rest of the municipality.
Photograph by: Ric Ernst, Vancouver Sun
METRO VANCOUVER - Proximity to rapid transit is increasingly a key factor in where new offices locate in the suburbs and Vancouver’s outlying areas, according to a report by commercial real estate services firm Jones Lang LaSalle.
“The closer, the better,” the company’s executive vice-president Ray Ahrens said in an interview after Monday’s release of the Rapid Transit Office Index. “The office buildings close to SkyTrain stations are enjoying much lower vacancies. While [it makes sense that] they [are] better occupied, we didn’t know the extent of this until we did the study.”
Ahrens said that transit is becoming increasingly popular in Metro Vancouver and “our [report] shows clear evidence that office developments located within walking distance of rapid transit have a significant advantage with less vacancy and higher rents.” More people are now commuting from downtown Vancouver to the suburbs for work, he noted.
According to the report, which addressed both suburban municipalities and the city of Vancouver’s outlying area, the direct vacancy rate for buildings within 0.5 kilometres of a rapid transit station is 4.8 per cent compared to 12.3 per cent for the rest of the market, while the average asking rents are approximately eight per cent higher.
The report noted that with a vacancy rate about one-third of areas not served by rapid transit, developers are increasingly looking to build more transit-oriented suburban office complexes.
“As downtown and Broadway corridor availability decreases and rents increase, our landlord and tenant clients are becoming more interested in transit-oriented suburban locations,” added Ahrens.
The report cited new office developments taking advantage of the trend, including in New Westminster, where three buildings are scheduled to be ready for occupancy in 2013.
The buildings, which include the new TransLink headquarters, will more than double the area’s existing ‘A’ class inventory and be adjacent to the New Westminster and Sapperton SkyTrain stations.
“We expect to see continued interest in these [suburban] developments, particularly from employers with back-office operations that do not need to be located downtown,” Ahrens said.
The report noted that a preference for rapid-transit-oriented office space is more muted in the downtown core and Broadway corridor.
“Although these markets are serviced by rapid transit, they also benefit from their central location and convenient access to other modes of public transportation such as frequent bus service and the SeaBus. Rapid-transit access, therefore, is not deemed to be a determining factor for tenants in these two regions.”
The report cited several benefits of having rapid transit near an office in the suburbs, including the ability for employees to save money on travel costs, and the ability to live in a more affordable suburban neighbourhood.
The report looked at several suburban municipalities, including Surrey, Burnaby, New Westminster and Richmond......
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http://www.vancouversun.com/business...744/story.html
Quote:
House values skyrocket in Vancouver's Cambie corridor
CBC News
Posted: Oct 27, 2011 10:51 AM PT
Last Updated: Oct 27, 2011 10:55 AM PT
Ten home on Cambie Street near 41st Avenue recently sold for $3.4 Million, nearly three times their assessed value. Ten home on Cambie Street near 41st Avenue recently sold for $3.4 Million, nearly three times their assessed value. ((Steve Lus/CBC))
Six months after Vancouver City Council approved a plan to transform the Cambie Street corridor, homes in the area have nearly tripled in value and some residents fear development will ruin the neighbourhood.
Last May the council passed a plan to bring 15,000 more people into the Cambie Street corridor through mid-rise development.
Then last month a block of 10 homes along Cambie Street near 41st Avenue sold for $3.4 million a piece – nearly three times their previously assessed value — and neighbours say they're growing tired of being pressured to sell by developers and real estate agents.
5100 Cambie Street
Cambie Street
Janice Douglas says she expects a six-storey building will soon be overlooking her single family home.
"We've got people looking in our back yard, looking in our bedroom, and we will never see the trees again — nor will we have any more sunshine," Douglas told CBC News.
Many residents don't want to move and feel ignored by the city as developers move in, looking to tear down the single family homes, she says.
"People come here for the beauty. Well the beauty is rapidly disappearing," said Douglas.
Canada Line driving changes
City planner Brent Toderian says he appreciates the concerns and the city is trying to cool down land speculation in the neighbourhood.
Toderian says the city has been meeting with developers and realtors to discuss land transactions after getting wind of some very high deals negotiated in the months after the Cambie corridor plan was approved.
He says the final prices didn't appear to have factored in community amenity contributions the city negotiates with developers in order to pay for infrastructure and services associated with increased density......
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http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/britis...eculation.html |
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