Usually the new neighbours bring some baked goods. These folks may bring a bill. Canada Revenue Agency will occupy the entire 140k SF second phase of the Containers on Terminal development, relocating from West Pender Street to False Creek Flats, the city’s hip, happening employment hub.

Public Works and Government Services Canada is leasing the whole building at 468 Terminal Ave for 15 years for use by CRA, “modifying the design slightly to fit their needs,” notes JLL EVP Ray Ahrens, who repped the project’s developer, Vancouver’s Rize Alliance Properties. Occupancy is slated for spring 2017.

CRA’s new home is the second phase of the Containers on Terminal project. Ray and his team signed Columbia College for Phase 1. With architecture inspired by the area’s industrial history as a railway terminus, the development includes a 12k SF rooftop patio and a communal courtyard. The second building is targeting LEED Silver.

CRA’s neighbours in False Creek Flats, one of the city’s most rapidly expanding new submarkets, include Centre for Digital Media, Emily Carr University and, most recently, Mountain Equipment Co-op, which opened a new 112k SF HQ at 1077 Great Northern Way (above.)

Ray notes that Columbia College (seen here) relocated from downtown Vancouver, and CRA will be doing the same. “These deals validate False Creek Flats as an alternative to downtown,” he says, noting they also reflect the growth of commercial space in Fairview Slopes, and the increase in residential development in the Olympic Village/Main Street area.