Office Market Discussion

[officedweller]

The proposed office tower at Luxe on No. 3 Rd. in Richmond by Townline and Canderel is probably more than 25,000 sq ft.
https://www.mikestewart.ca/presale/luxe-...presale-condos-by-townline-and-canderel/

Likewise, the Bridgeport Business Centre tower (Phase 1) in Richmond completed last year is 231,279 sq. ft.
- but it's not quite in a "downtown".
https://www.scottconstructiongroup.com/our-projects/bridgeport-business-centre-phase-1/

There's also the First West Credit Union Building in Langley at 130,000 sq ft near Hwy1 and 200th St. but it may be a few years old.
https://www.loopnet.ca/Listing/19933-88th-Ave-Langley-Twp-BC/17256603/

[LeftCoaster]

I think it's safe to say the office component of Gilmore place has broken ground, and it is actually U/C I believe.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by LeftCoaster

I think it's safe to say the office component of Gilmore place has broken ground, and it is actually U/C I believe.

Burnaby's Major Projects list (updated to a week ago) says it's only had its Second Reading so far. I think the underground work is U/C, but it doesn't seem like the tower has been approved yet. (Cushman's seem to still be trying to get tenants for the 80,000 sq ft of space in Phase 1).

[LeftCoaster]

Interesting. Technically (By SSP guidelines) the building is U/C but it is not municipally approved.

Not a first by any means, but not a very common occurrence.

[madog222]

Footings and one level of columns for Gilmore Phase 2 (incl the office tower) along the border with phase 1 have been built, presumably only to avoid issues excavating right beside Phase 1 footings later.
No sign of anything else for Phase 2 being constructed, there is still plenty of excavation and shoring to do.

Originally Posted by RabidMoose

Couple more shots from March 15th.

g2 by Lexus LX600, on Flickr

[Lexus]

Originally Posted by LeftCoaster

Interesting. Technically (By SSP guidelines) the building is U/C but it is not municipally approved.

Not a first by any means, but not a very common occurrence.

The excavation process south of Skytain tracks is related to phase I. They did a partial excavation for phase II; however and structural work is related to phase I only. I'm keeping an eye on when they will start work on Phase II.

[whatnext]

From BIV today:

Amazon layoffs raising spectre of added empty Vancouver sublease space
Downtown Vancouver has a 30-year-high amount of empty sublease office space
By Glen Korstrom | March 20, 2023, 12:40pm

Layoffs at one of B.C.'s larger employers raises the spectre that the city of Vancouver's 30-year-high amount of vacant sublease space will continue to balloon.

Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq:AMZN) today announced plans to trim 9,000 employees, only two months after it laid out plans to cull 18,000 workers from what in January was more than 1.5 million global employees.

No one from Amazon was immediately available to say whether, or how much, its Vancouver workforce would be hurt by the layoffs. BIV last year ranked Amazon as the third largest national or global company in the province, with about 10,000 workers. An updated report from Amazon Canada pins the number of B.C. workers at 10,500....

.....Thompson said Amazon's move to the Post has been in the works for years and Amazon likely long ago made decisions on how to consolidate its workforce, and vacate some of its Vancouver real estate.

Total vacant sublease space in downtown Vancouver reached 722,000 sq. ft. in the fourth quarter of 2022 – the most in 30 years, according to CBRE.

The surging amount of vacant sublease space is largely thanks to large and full-floor spaces given up by major tenants downtown, the real estate brokerage said in its most recent office report.

Amazon.com employs more than 1,500 office workers in downtown Vancouver, with those workers locating in a shifting series of sites.

Amazon office workers occupy downtown Vancouver space at:
•Telus Garden, at 510 West Georgia Street;
• the Exchange, at 475 Howe Street;
• 745 Thurlow Street and
• an Oxford Properties building at 402 Dunsmuir Street...

https://biv.com/article/2023/03/amazon-layoffs-raising-spectre-added-empty-vancouver-sublease-space

[s211]

Originally Posted by LeftCoaster

Interesting. Technically (By SSP guidelines) the building is U/C but it is not municipally approved.

Not a first by any means, but not a very common occurrence.

I seem to recall a graduated permit granting process elsewhere, e.g. demo permit followed by excavation permit, etc. I could be wrong and can't say whether that's more efficient or not, but perhaps it could expedite some project timelines?

[LeftCoaster]

Graduated permit processes are very common on the building side, so your example. Demo permit before excav permit. Excavation beginning before building permit issuance etc... but excavation and below grade construction before development permit is quite rare.

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by s211

I seem to recall a graduated permit granting process elsewhere, e.g. demo permit followed by excavation permit, etc. I could be wrong and can't say whether that's more efficient or not, but perhaps it could expedite some project timelines?

They issued a permit just for the P7 parking level earlier on with Gilmore Place.

[SpongeG]

Vancouver's Mount Pleasant neighbourhood rises as an attractive office destination

The area's draws include amenities, proximity to transit and zoning options
By Claire Wilson | March 31, 2023


Mount Pleasant’s office vacancy rate is 5.8 per cent, according to Colliers | Chung Chow

Eclectic coffee shops, breweries and thrift stores are not the businesses one would expect to see nestled in Vancouver’s “up and coming” corporate office neighbourhood.

But those amenities, along with proximity to rapid transit and residential opportunities, are exactly what is attracting companies to settle in Vancouver’s Mount Pleasant area. As a result, the neighbourhood – dubbed Vancouver’s innovation district – is turning into a mosaic of a variety of users and uses.

“It’s not your traditional office tower type setting, but you do have that independent coffee roaster next to the independent brewery, next to a biotech company, a [visual effects] company or someone who specializes in gaming,” said Glenn Gardner, principal at Avison Young.

...

https://biv.com/article/2023/03/vancouve...hood-rises-attractive-office-destination

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

“It’s not your traditional office tower type setting, but you do have that independent coffee roaster next to the independent brewery, next to a biotech company, a [visual effects] company or someone who specializes in gaming,” said Glenn Gardner, principal at Avison Young.

...

https://biv.com/article/2023/03/vancouve...hood-rises-attractive-office-destination

Interesting choice of image. That's a bio-tech lab, and a jewellery manufacturer. There are plenty of office buildings in the area, but not those two (apart from a bit of office space in the renovated house).

[logan5]

I wonder if we'll see a progression towards taller office towers for Mt Pleasant. If the demand is there, I can see this "open for business/get our swagger back" city council getting flexible on what can be allowed.

[madog222]

Originally Posted by Changing City

Interesting choice of image. That's a bio-tech lab, and a jewellery manufacturer. There are plenty of office buildings in the area, but not those two (apart from a bit of office space in the renovated house).

They refer to the area as Mount Pleasant while only talking about the Mount Pleasant Industrial Area which is fine given the topic but then gives the bordering streets of the neighborhood proper.

Originally Posted by logan5

I wonder if we'll see a progression towards taller office towers for Mt Pleasant. If the demand is there, I can see this "open for business/get our swagger back" city council getting flexible on what can be allowed.

It's still an industrial focused area. Current allowance is for up to 11 storeys if at least half is industrial use (or 7 if 1/3 industrial). That just came in with the Broadway Plan after any of the current buildings or proposals so I don't see it changing any time soon.

[logan5]

Originally Posted by madog222

They refer to the area as Mount Pleasant while only talking about the Mount Pleasant Industrial Area which is fine given the topic but then gives the bordering streets of the neighborhood proper.





It's still an industrial focused area. Current allowance is for up to 11 storeys if at least half is industrial use (or 7 if 1/3 industrial). That just came in with the Broadway Plan after any of the current buildings or proposals so I don't see it changing any time soon.

The City changed up what their definition of industrial means in order to accommodate this recent wave of smaller office buildings, so imo, if the demand is there, the City might allow it.

[osirisboy]

Originally Posted by logan5

I wonder if we'll see a progression towards taller office towers for Mt Pleasant. If the demand is there, I can see this "open for business/get our swagger back" city council getting flexible on what can be allowed.

There is demand for it but there are arbitrary height limits set by the city

[Klazu]

Which companies are actually located in the area? I can only think of Hootsuite (not doing so hot right now) and the one biotech company that I forget the name of.

[madog222]

Originally Posted by Klazu

Which companies are actually located in the area? I can only think of Hootsuite (not doing so hot right now) and the one biotech company that I forget the name of.

Abcellera is the biotech you're thinking of, another one is Zymeworks who's in Main Alley M2, both HQ.
Also in M2 is Trulioo, fintech, HQ.
DNEG (formerly Double Negative), VFX studio, they're London based.
Glacier Media, runs a bunch of information media including Business in Vancouver and REW, HQ.
Best Buy Canada corporate HQ. (technically it's just outside the area)
Novus, independent ISP offering 2.5gig fibre, HQ.
CityTV & OMNI along 2nd Ave, studios and Vancouver office.
Oak + Fort, HQ.
SAXX Underwear, HQ

Plus a number of design (architecture, fashion) studios. On the architecture side Mondivan moved into the recently completed 161 E 4th, which they designed; it will be the same storey for Ekistics with the U/C 101 W 6th.

Honorable mention to AB Scale Models whose architectural models have been pictured on this forum many many times, though not so much recently as cities moved to online hearings.

[SpongeG]

this one?

A notable presence in the area is AbCellera Biologics Inc. (Nasdaq:ABCL), which is creating its own AbCellera campus in Mount Pleasant. The space will become the company’s global headquarters, according to Murray McCutcheon, the company’s senior vice-president of corporate development.

in the business thread there is a story that JD sports will open its Canadian head office in the area.

"Everything from property, accounting, human resources, buying, planning, marketing – basically every single part of the company will be there."

https://biv.com/article/2023/03/jd-sports-canada-hiring-boom-opens-vancouver-head-office

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by madog222

Abcellera is the biotech you're thinking of, another one is Zymeworks who's in Main Alley M2, both HQ.
Also in M2 is Trulioo, fintech, HQ.
DNEG (formerly Double Negative), VFX studio, they're London based.
Glacier Media, runs a bunch of information media including Business in Vancouver and REW, HQ.
Best Buy Canada corporate HQ. (technically it's just outside the area)
Novus, independent ISP offering 2.5gig fibre, HQ.
CityTV & OMNI along 2nd Ave, studios and Vancouver office.
Oak + Fort, HQ.
SAXX Underwear, HQ

Plus a number of design (architecture, fashion) studios. On the architecture side Mondivan moved into the recently completed 161 E 4th, which they designed; it will be the same storey for Ekistics with the U/C 101 W 6th.

Honorable mention to AB Scale Models whose architectural models have been pictured on this forum many many times, though not so much recently as cities moved to online hearings.

Also...
Image Engine,
Relic Entertainment (SEGA)
Fast + Epp Engineering
WildBrain Studios
and possibly Canfor (who were suppposed to move from W75th)

Animal Logic will be moving into M4