The Exchange | 115.7m | 31fl, 13fl | 400,000sqft. | Completed

[s211]

Originally Posted by Hot Rod

Sometimes, I have to really question the city of Vancouver and its motives.

Sometimes I have wonder why so many people remain wilfully ignorant of market demands.

[Hot Rod]

I agree about the execs needing parking and I wasn't suggesting they'd take the subway on a regular basis to work; but also they'd maybe live downtown already and just walk.

What about parkade garage(s)?

For the Seattle prospective, I'm not sure if our tallest office towers have significant amount of parking integrated. or required.

But I stand corrected guys, I do see your point. Thanks.

[s211]

Originally Posted by Hot Rod

I agree about the execs needing parking and I wasn't suggesting they'd take the subway on a regular basis to work; but also they'd maybe live downtown already and just walk.

What about parkade garage(s)?

For the Seattle prospective, I'm not sure if our tallest office towers have significant amount of parking integrated. or required.

But I stand corrected guys, I do see your point. Thanks.

The internet is your friend. You might be surprised.

[Mikemike]

Originally Posted by s211

Sometimes I have wonder why so many people remain wilfully ignorant of market demands.

Who's ignorant? Credit Siusse, an actual market agent, decided that the market requires 30 stalls less than the city requires, and that adding those 30 stalls would be so expensive and so unprofitable that it's worth paying the city 20,000 each to be allowed to not build them?
I think that HotRod, by trusting credit Suisse, is showing a little more understanding of 'Market Demands' than you and the City of Vancouver.

Who could building less parking possibly harm, except the owner?
Who knows, maybe if it weren't for the City's market-Distorting demands Credit Suisse might be planning even less parking, but they're building it because they figure they'll lose less than 20,000 per stall. It's still not market. An actual free parking market might cut another 20% of the parking, until they would actually expect to make money on each stall.
I hope the City uses the money to improve transit to the site. Because otherwise it's basically a tax on sustainability.

[s211]

Originally Posted by Mikemike

Who's ignorant? Credit Siusse, an actual market agent, decided that the market requires 30 stalls less than the city requires, and that adding those 30 stalls would be so expensive and so unprofitable that it's worth paying the city 20,000 each to be allowed to not build them?
I think that HotRod, by trusting credit Suisse, is showing a little more understanding of 'Market Demands' than you and the City of Vancouver.

Who could building less parking possibly harm, except the owner?
Who knows, maybe if it weren't for the City's market-Distorting demands Credit Suisse might be planning even less parking, but they're building it because they figure they'll lose less than 20,000 per stall. It's still not market. An actual free parking market might cut another 20% of the parking, until they would actually expect to make money on each stall.
I hope the City uses the money to improve transit to the site. Because otherwise it's basically a tax on sustainability.

Go read the original post to understand my post. When one sees comments like "Why would a commercial office skyscraper be required to have parking spots anyway?", I can only shake my head (taking into account my 25 years in the commercial real estate market, in case you're curious).

[Mikemike]

Read it again. He's talking about City of Vancouver requirements, not economic necessity. You even quote him questioning the "City of Vancouver and it's motives" not the the developer.

[osirisboy]

Groundbreaking is scheduled for today!

http://www.vancouversun.com/touch/story.html?id=9419305

[queetz@home]

Originally Posted by osirisboy

Groundbreaking is scheduled for today!

http://www.vancouversun.com/touch/story.html?id=9419305

May God have mercy on our soul.....

[osirisboy]

Why?

[s211]

How many times do we have to repeat that the market is oversupplied, not just right now but for at least several years? There's too many projects chasing too few tenants, and it's negatively affecting the rest of the market.

[LeftCoaster]

You should write a letter to credit suisse, I bet they haven't even though of that...

[queetz@home]

Oh my comment has NOTHING to do with the office space market...

[s211]

Originally Posted by LeftCoaster

You should write a letter to credit suisse, I bet they haven't even though of that...

Trust me, the market isn't welcoming this, or any other proposal that would go ahead at this time.

[Prometheus]

A slightly fuller article than the one above. They seem confident:

Credit Suisse breaks ground on $200 million tower despite no tenants

By Glen Korstrom and Emma Crawford
Thu Jan 23, 2014 8:54am PST

Credit Suisse Real Estate Asset Management and SwissReal Group revealed their confidence in Vancouver's office market by launching construction of their long-planned $200 million Exchange office tower at 475 Howe Street despite not having any tenants lined up.

"The race is on," effused marketer and CBRE Canada president Mark Renzoni. "The race to secure the first deal, the race to complete construction and the race to welcome the first tenants"

Swiss architect Harry Gugger and Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson joined Renzoni at the launch January 23.

The 31-storey, 369,000-square-foot building is set to be the second tallest LEED platinum office building in Canada and it is the country's first LEED platinum heritage conversion. Leed platinum is the highest designation for sustainability by the Canada Green Building Council.

The project incorporates part of Vancouver's former stock exchange building, which was built in 1929. Its construction employs an estimated 400 workers.

The building will use half the energy of a traditional office building, said Credit Suisse. The design includes solar thermal panels, storm water retention and reuse and geo-exchange thermal regulators.

Rainer Scherway, director at Credit Suisse Real Estate Asset Management, said the company usually invests in properties that are fully developed and leased.

"This office tower represents the first time in North America that we are confident enough to build a major project from the ground up," Scherway said.

Marketers expect most of the building to be leased before construction is completed in 2016.

Gugger also designed London's Tate Modern Gallery and the Bird's Nest Stadium in Beijing.

Credit Suisse got the green light for the building from Vancouver city council in August.

http://www.biv.com/article/20140123/BIV0...-on-200-million-tower-despite-no-tenants

[PaperTiger]

Originally Posted by s211

Trust me, the market isn't welcoming this, or any other proposal that would go ahead at this time.

By "the market" I assume you mean landlords. I imagine tenants will be pleased with the new choices and the downward pressure on rents, more bargaining power for negotiating TI etc.

[TwoFace]

I believe the latest strategy is to "poach" existing A class tenants, that would prefer an address with an International flavour ... even if it "will" cost more.

[NewWester]

Originally Posted by s211

Trust me, the market isn't welcoming this, or any other proposal that would go ahead at this time.

Well I'm no big city economist, but it strikes me that "the market" can't have feelings or a side of the argument. "The market" is the supply of space and the demand for the space. The demand for space wasn't being met so developers increased the supply of space in the market. If the (admittedly little) of economics I understand is true, if the new supply is far in excess of the demand (I think the idea is always to have a little more space than what is filled) then this wave of office development will halt. That said, I'm under the impression that these kinds of real estate holding plays are about the long term: I'm not sure they are super worried about immediately filling the space.

I actually wonder to what extent these players are gambling on oil companies moving into Vancouver to keep us tractable or are trying to get into the Vancouver office market now, while there is still prime land to be had, for longterm future demand.

[s211]

I support a balanced market, and we're about to go off-balance.

WRT oil companies, the developers I know would love to attract them, but they're not driving their development decisions based on one sector of the economy. Developers in Vancouver can't afford to be that picky.

[officedweller]

Great news - so which are the ones in the CBD not officially started?

320 Granville
601 West Hastings
1090 West Pender
753 Seymour

[Prometheus]

Some more information:

Vancouver mayor hopes new office tower will help with vacancy woes



By Tiffany Crawford, Vancouver Sun January 23, 2014

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson helped break ground Thursday on a new $200 million 31-storey Credit Suisse office tower in Vancouver's financial district.

Robertson heralded the progress as an end to the city's business vacancy woes, as Vancouver remains one of North America's tightest markets for office space.

Vancouver's vacancy rate for class A office space sits at 5.3 per cent. That's compared with 8.7 per cent in Montreal and 9.7 per cent in Edmonton. But according to Cushman and Wakefield Vancouver's vacancy rate is projected to jump to 7.7 per cent this year and to 10,5 per cent in 2015.

The Exchange, which will be joined with the old Stock Exchange building located at 475 Howe Street built in 1929, will be the first LEED Platinum conversion of a heritage building in Canada. It is the first B.C. venture for Credit Suisse and will provide 369,000 square feet of office space, or enough space for 1,700 workers.

Robertson said the tower will add much needed office space in the downtown core and contribute to the city's goal of becoming the greenest city in the world.

The six other office towers under construction are: Telus Garden at 448,000 square feet; 745 Thurlow at 365,000 square feet; 980 Howe at 250,000 square feet; The MNP Tower at 270,000 square feet; 725 Granville at 300,000 square feet; And Aqulini's Tower at 180,000 square feet.

"When it comes to the strength of Vancouver's office market, we've come a long way in the last five years," said Robertson. A few years ago our economy was being held back by a lack of space, we had a critical shortage and it's wonderful to see the market respond."

He said the city has approved as much office space in the last four years as in the previous decade. Up until recently, the city was projecting a critical shortage of office space by 2031 if land-use policies remained the same. Robertson said new zoning bylaws enacted in 2009 helped get the new towers off the ground. The seven new towers under construction downtown will provide 2.18-million square feet of new office space.

He said Credit Suisse's decision to build from the ground up in Vancouver signals that international corporations realize Vancouver is one of the strongest office markets in North America.

"We are creating jobs in heart of Vancouver's financial district and building one of the most sustainable workplaces in Canada," said Franz Gehriger, CEO of SwissReal Group

Renowned Swiss architect Harry Gugger said he wanted to create a measured project, a building that respects its immediate environment. He added that the old Stock Exchange building is "a refined and handsomely crafted building" and they tried to respect the heritage building as much as they could.

Mark Renzoni, president of CBRE, the leasing brokerage for the development, said the firm is negotiating with a number of tenants and he expects to make an announcement soon.

The old stock exchange building, clad in gothic terracotta, was built in 1929 just as interest in neo-gothic architecture was erased by the more streamlined style of the Art Deco movement. The gothic facade will be retained and incorporated into the overall design, according to plans.

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainmen...cy+woes/9422303/story.html#ixzz2rGv8Ui11