Office Market Discussion

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by Changing City

From the article... "Multiple industry sources told Western Investor that the sale price was $74 million. BC Assessment values 1185 West Georgia at $60.1 million in an assessment dated to July 1, 2025."

The article also said the prevous assessment was a bit higher (with the sale price skewed to the higher assessment):
"The previous assessed value was $81.3 million. The sale price effectively split the difference."

VancouverMarket.ca refernces the much higher 2022 price paid by Allied.

At $446/SF, the sale prices well below the $814/SF Allied paid in 2022 — a roughly 45% decline over four years that reflects the broader repricing downtown Vancouver’s office sector has undergone amid elevated vacancy and Allied’s own well-documented balance sheet pressures, which included a billion-dollar writedown on property values and an accompanying billion-dollar net loss reported in its most recent quarter. Notably, BC Assessment valued the property at $60.1 million as of July 1, 2025, down from a prior assessed value of $81.3 million — putting the $74 million sale price almost exactly between the two.

https://vancouvermarket.ca/2026/08/07/1185-west-georgia-street-vancouver-office-sale/

[whatnext]

I wonder how much office space this will put on the market? Looks like they have space in 3 or 4 buildings:

International Language Academy of Canada shutters over bankruptcy
By The Canadian Press
Posted September 19, 2026 8:11 pm.
Last Updated September 20, 2026 5:12 am.
The International Language Academy of Canada says it has filed for bankruptcy protection and cancelled all classes and programming.

A notice posted on the private language school’s website, better known as ILAC, says it has faced growing financial challenges over the past three years due to what it calls significant regulatory challenges affecting the sector.…

https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2026/09/19...demy-of-canada-shutters-over-bankruptcy/

[jollyburger]

Glenn Gardner, principal with Avison Young, moderated the panel. He said downtown vacancy for AAA space is 11.4 per cent.

At the other end of the spectrum, class-C space in the downtown area is experiencing vacancy above 23 per cent. Vancouver’s overall office vacancy is 14 per cent.

For any tenants currently seeking AAA space larger than 50,000 square feet, there are only four options in the entire downtown area, Gardner said.

Mining and mining services has been a modest driver for demand recently, Corbett said, while Au noted that QuadReal’s office buildings are enjoying demand from a variety of professional services firms.

The problem, Corbett said, is that tech still hasn't made a big comeback here as a tenant.

Tech tenants drove the market for nearly a decade from about 2014. "I just haven't seen the level of inbound business calls at U.S. corporations looking for office space in Vancouver,” he said.

“Typically, that's been technology that's been driving it, and that's one of my first comments where I just haven't seen that coming in the last 12 to 18 months."

"I'm just a little bit concerned with demand in Vancouver," Corbett added.

For a new, large-scale office building to kick-off, there needs to be available sites for demolition and for development, Corbett said. There also needs to be capital from investors and an anchor tenant committed to the space.

"There's really only one or two sites that you can do that," he said. "And do these owners have the capital to do that? Maybe, but do they have the willingness to do that?"

He said it's unlikely that any speculative development of a building would happen unless there is a large tenant sitting already in this market that's willing to wait several years for the new space to complete.

"Before a shovel goes in the ground, I think it could be between four to six more years, if not longer," Corbett said.

https://renx.ca/downtown-vancouver-aaa-office-space-tightens-as-new-build-pipeline-freezes

[chowhou]

Tech tenants drove the market for nearly a decade from about 2014. "I just haven't seen the level of inbound business calls at U.S. corporations looking for office space in Vancouver,” he said.

Anecdotally, many of the tech workers I know in Vancouver who work for US corporations simply work remotely or might only have access to WeWork which shockingly still exists.