Office Market Discussion

[zahav]

It's so encouraging to see the office market doing well, it's really a good show of confidence locally. Especially right now with WFH and so many questions on how the future will look, it's nice to see good strong companies setting up physical offices

[Migrant_Coconut]

Come on though, was anybody really expecting all-week WFH to be permanent?

[zahav]

No but it was pretty iffy when a lot of big companies in the first year said they were satisfied and would encourage WFH. I think Vancouver has fared better than other cities based on that article, so it is really encouraging to see nonetheless

[CondoInvestor]

most workers enjoy working from home, employers will have no choice but to give in

[MIPS]

Originally Posted by CondoInvestor

most workers enjoy working from home, employers will have no choice but to give in

I said it at the beginning and I'll say it again. There is no way in hell working from home is gonna hang around. Come the end of the pandemic people are gonna be dragged back to their desks or scream like children because they can't be lazy/time theft.

[svlt]

Originally Posted by MIPS

I said it at the beginning and I'll say it again. There is no way in hell working from home is gonna hang around. Come the end of the pandemic people are gonna be dragged back to their desks or scream like children because they can't be lazy/time theft.

There is the specter of the "great resignation" and the huge glut of job vacancies in north America hanging over this vision. Companies where employees can vote with their feet to join the opposition will easily dangle the carrot of WFH, or hybrid work over higher salaries, and many employees will take it instead of a pay raise. Hybrid work is likely here to stay forever (for office workers anyway).

[FarmerHaight]

Originally Posted by svlt

Hybrid work is likely here to stay forever (for office workers anyway).

Yes, hybrid work is here to stay. And if each employee is given control over their hybrid schedule - i.e. they can choose when to come in and don't have to follow a schedule - that employer will need enough physical office space for each hybrid and in-person employee to be in the building at the same time, together.

Some business will cut cost and go completely remote, but office space will still be required for any hybrid company.

FWIW, most people appreciate the option to work from home, and simply don't want to be forced to be 100 percent in-person or 100 percent remote. I think businesses that can offer flexibility to people with long commutes or young children at home will have an advantage in recruiting. But myself and all of my colleagues still want the office because that is where we gather for company-wide meetings, Christmas parties, and drinks after work.

[officedweller]

Received from E&Y:

Our EY Vancouver office is moving!

Our EY Vancouver office will be moving to a new temporary location at Oceanic Plaza in downtown Vancouver on March 7, 2022.
Stay tuned for updates on when you can expect to visit us at our new permanent location at The Stack.

Please update your records with our new mailing address:

Ernst & Young LLP
Oceanic Plaza
1066 W. Hastings St., Suite 2300
Vancouver, BC V6E 3X1

That clears the way for Miller Thomson to renovate E&Y's TD Tower floors (22 and 23) and move from their open concept space above Nordstrom.

[officedweller]

Choice Properties Real Estate Investment Trust Announces Strategic Sale of Six High-Quality Office Properties to Allied Properties Real Estate Investment Trust
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/2...-Properties-Real-Estate-Investment-Trust

Includes 1508 West Broadway and 1185 West Georgia

[rofina]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Choice Properties Real Estate Investment Trust Announces Strategic Sale of Six High-Quality Office Properties to Allied Properties Real Estate Investment Trust
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/2...-Properties-Real-Estate-Investment-Trust

Includes 1508 West Broadway and 1185 West Georgia

Allied is the worst landlord experience I have ever come across as a tenant and as a contractor, had the misfortune of dealing with them from both sides.

That said - they are managing to expand at an impressive pace, so clearly their strategy works well from a high level view. But on the receiving end, they are brutal to work with.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Choice Properties Real Estate Investment Trust Announces Strategic Sale of Six High-Quality Office Properties to Allied Properties Real Estate Investment Trust
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/2...-Properties-Real-Estate-Investment-Trust

Includes 1508 West Broadway and 1185 West Georgia

Both seem like investment rather than redevelopment in the short to medium term, but with redevelopment potential. W Broadway is the 1998 Indigo (Chapters) and office building at Broadway and Granville. The Broadway Plan will give it potentially a bigger redevelopment opportunity, but it seems a bit new to tear down at this point. W Georgia is older - 1984, and 16 storeys and 165,000 sq. ft. in a spot that can probably see double that, but there are more obvious candidates for replacement in the CBD nearby. If/when it does redevelop the residents in the Paradox/1151 tower will probably be pissed!

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by Changing City

Both seem like investment rather than redevelopment in the short to medium term, but with redevelopment potential. W Broadway is the 1998 Indigo (Chapters) and office building at Broadway and Granville. The Broadway Plan will give it potentially a bigger redevelopment opportunity, but it seems a bit new to tear down at this point. W Georgia is older - 1984, and 16 storeys and 165,000 sq. ft. in a spot that can probably see double that, but there are more obvious candidates for replacement in the CBD nearby. If/when it does redevelop the residents in the Paradox/1151 tower will probably be pissed!

The Indigo/Office building isn't on School Board property?

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by whatnext

The Indigo/Office building isn't on School Board property?

No, that's further west. 1508 W Broadway was originally a Bentall development.

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by whatnext

The Indigo/Office building isn't on School Board property?

I think the whole block was originally VSB property.
For some reason I think it's all on a ground lease (office tower, condo)
- as I remember thinking the condo tower prices were crazy for leasehold.
There is probably a common underground garage below the Chapters Idigo office building and the VSB portion.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by officedweller

I think the whole block was originally VSB property.
For some reason I think it's all on a ground lease (office tower, condo)
- as I remember thinking the condo tower prices were crazy for leasehold.
There is probably a common underground garage below the Chapters Idigo office building and the VSB portion.

There are two separate parking garages, with ramps off W10th. The residential tower The Triton (the condo building) has a Vancouver School Board prepaid lease to 2097 w/full market value buyout at the end of the lease. It has a ramp from W 10th next to the ramp to 1508 W Broadway, which has its own parkade and ramp. The School Board office has its own ramp to a parkade accessed off Fir. So three parkades, not connected.

[officedweller]

Thanks.
I think nowadays they would be more likely to share entrances.

[jollyburger]

Some letter to the VSB board said Bentall sold to "Canadian Real Estate Investment Trust in 2004 for $42.2 million"

BC Assessment 2022

1508 West Broadway $127,591,000

1580 West Broadway $79,733,000 + $10,694,000

And the strata units at Triton.

Construction photos



More here:

https://blogs.vsb.bc.ca/heritage/2018/01...rs-different-places-different-buildings/

[jollyburger]

Bosa 29,566SF at MNP Tower
Tipalti 26,986SF at Bentall Centre
PayByPhone 22,863SF at 1290 Homer
Thorsteinssons LLP 20,051 at 1090 West Pender
Owen Bird LLP 15,553SF at Vancouver Centre II

https://www.cbre.ca/en/research-and-reports/Vancouver-Office-Figures-Q4-2021

Plentyoffish Media 30,170SF at Stack
Northeastern (expanded) 10,330 Deloitte Summit
Harrison Healthcare 14,450SF Burrard Place

https://www.avisonyoung.ca/market-report...arket-report-year-end-2021-/in/vancouver

[FarmerHaight]

Resurgent demand in Metro Vancouver office market continues

The office vacancy rate for the overall Metro Vancouver region saw its second consecutive quarterly decline, with the rate falling very slightly to 6.9% in the first quarter of 2022, according to a new CBRE market update.

This up from the vacancy peak of 7.4% in the third quarter of 2021.

All the while, office rents across the region over the first three months of 2022 have pushed to a new record high of $34.18 per sq ft — an 11% increase from the first quarter of 2021.

However, downtown Vancouver’s office market saw a slight vacancy increase from 7.2% in the fourth quarter of 2021 to 7.7% in the first quarter of 2022.

This is downtown Vancouver’s highest vacancy rate during the pandemic, slightly exceeding the previous high of 7.6% in the third quarter of 2021, which is still considered a balanced/healthy rate. Despite the uptick, downtown Vancouver still has the lowest office vacancy rate amongst major city centres in North America.

[jollyburger]

I don't recall seeing this but Microsoft took over the Deloitte space at the old Tom Lee Building it seems. 63,000 square feet