Colliers: Downtown Squeeze
Even with eight office buildings and 5M SF in the works--not to mention the six towers completed in the past five years (4.6M SF)--downtown vacancy rates will likely remain low according to a Colliers report released yesterday. "If this is the level of activity the market experiences during a 'recession' period, we should buckle up, as this will be quite the ride," Colliers EMD John Arnoldi says. Much of the space in the pipeline has been pre-leased, while 15 potential office development sites are being actively marketed. With firms such as Coca-Cola and Telus moving back to the core to take advantage of an educated, young workforce, space is absorbed as fast as it's built. About 5.1% of downtown space is vacant, the lowest since a record 4.0% in 2001.
