Quote:
Originally Posted by hollywoodnorth
Troubling trend as more of Vancouver's retail spaces sit empty
with the lawlessness going right now only a crazy person would open a retail business or restaurant in the COV.
A window boarding and replacement service being the exception.
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Didn't bother to read the story then? Vacancy rates Downtown are 7%, the same as Commercial Drive, and in Yaletown is 6%. The high vacancy rates "include Strathcona at 27 per cent, Hastings Crossing at 22 per cent, Point Grey Village and Dunbar Village at 17 per cent, and Chinatown at 16 per cent."
The picture they include for Strathcona is an East Hastings mission, that closed down because of covid. A lot of East Hastings store fronts haven't had retail uses for decades, and many are now closed (and not reopening) because it wasn't safe to run social service drop-in services during covid. Several of the 'convenience stores' also closed. There are new stores opening on both the 800 block of E Hastings, where Lowtide Properties have been renovating the buildings, and in the 900 block in Strathcona Village building, so the vacancy rate will go down a bit, and several other vacant blocks have been demolished for redevelopment, but it's unlikely that vacancy will drop as much in some parts of the area.
I wasn't aware that Point Grey Village or Dunbar faced the same issues of vandalism. Could the effect of covid on the economy as a whole, and the wealthy west side ordering Amazon Prime instead be a factor? The new retail landscape may look very different to the pre-covid era, and there might be insufficient demand for stores and services in a number of locations - especially the areas where population numbers are staying the same.