64 BCBusiness october 2015
this year will see
an unprecedented
increase in prime
office space for
downtown
VancouVer. it
reflects a decade
of pent-up desire
finally being
realized–and also
a fundamental-
shift in how we
work and View the
workplace
b
the Other Real Estate
oom
M
oving ofices—much like moving homes—is the sort
of thing that you only do by threat or incentive. For
management, it's expensive, disruptive and punishingly
time-consuming. And for employees, it triggers dread of
the unknown. Where will I park my car? Is there anywhere
decent nearby to grab lunch? And do I get to keep my favourite chair?
Until recently, at least in the downtown Vancouver o ce market, these
weren't questions being asked with any regularity. While Vancouver has tra-
ditionally added about 200,000 square feet of new o ce space per year, there
has been scant new supply since the economic downturn in 2008. Then, in
2015, that all changed—and in rather dramatic fashion. With the retro‡t of the
old Sears/new Nordstrom building at 725 Granville and the new Telus Garden
on West Georgia leading the way, Vancouver is enjoying an injection of new
space that will amount to 2.1 million square feet over the next two years—most
of it by this Christmas. That's twice as much new space as has ever been intro-
duced into the Vancouver market in a single year.
s t o r y B y
r i C h a r d l i t t l e m o r e
p h o t o g r a p h y B y
a d a m B l a s B e r g
