A zoning amendment implemented last year will bring sweeping changes along the city’s Broadway Corridor. JLL’s Ronan Pigott says the l-1 zoning amendment allows for approval for a broader range of user groups in the area. A mixed-use building can now be comprised of larger general office space on floors above the ground floor, opening up doors for developers and tenants along Mount Pleasant.
Office vacancy along the Broadway Corridor has increased since the end of Q3 2013 (5.5% to 6.2%), but it's still the second lowest in Metro Vancouver. Five new office developments totaling 783k SF will be ready for occupancy in the Broadway submarket in the next 24 months (61% pre-leased). Rendition Development’s new office building, 7 East 6th Ave (rendered), which JLL represents, is a "testament to the recent uptick in the pace of this transformation,” Ronan says.
With 1.8M SF of new office space coming online downtown in 2014 and 2015, combined with what’s going on along the Broadway Corridor, landlords will be competing for tenants against backfill opportunities, meaning downward pressure on asking rates, he says. (Tenants: update and print your wishlists.) However B.C.’s GDP growth is expected to be among the highest in the country by 2015. In the image is Renfrew Centre, under construction.
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