Office space vacancy in Hamilton’s downtown hits lowest rate in five years: city report
http://www.thespec.com/news-story/487808...s-lowest-rate-in-five-years-city-report/
The downtown office vacancy rate has fallen to its lowest rate since the city began tracking employment numbers in 2010.
There was 613,790 square feet of office space available in the core in June, for an 11.8 per cent vacancy rate. That fell from 13 per cent last year and 15.2 per cent in 2009.
Empty floors in the Stelco Tower account for one-third of the vacant space. Without that building in the mix, the overall vacancy rate would be 8.4 per cent.
The city also tracked vacancies in storefront commercial and office units and found 16 per cent were empty, a small decline from 17 per cent in 2013.
Along with less empty space, there are now 24,700 jobs within the downtown area, an increase of 250 positions over 2013. About three-quarters of the jobs are full time.
The top three downtown employment sectors are government, professional/scientific and retail/entertainment.
A staff report to council this week said new office occupants tend to come to Hamilton for lower lease rates and employers are finding the city's quality of life and real estate affordability are helping with employee retention.
The Downtown Hamilton Urban Growth Centre stretches from Queen Street to Victoria Avenue and Hunter Street to Cannon Street, and includes James Street North to the CN Railway and south to Charlton Avenue.
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