A virtuous cycle of further development and intensifying demand might arise
E-commerce giant Amazon’s takeover of the two-tower former Canada Post building in downtown Vancouver is significant enough to pull down the city’s projected office vacancy rate by 2%, according to commercial property insiders interviewed by the Vancouver Sun.
At present, the office vacancy rate in the downtown area is at 2.4%, among the lowest in North America.
The entry of such a prestigious company is highly likely to impel a virtuous cycle of further demand and development, Cresa tenant leasing specialist Ross Moore noted.
“It is virtually impossible for me to overstate how significant this is to the Vancouver office market,” Moore said. “With a tech giant like Amazon taking that amount of space, I think most people will now agree, yes, we have that critical mass. Once that snowball is rolling, it just keeps going.”
Jamil Jamani of CoStar Group added that the lease will complement the company’s suite of projects in the region.
“In downtown Vancouver, we’ve got 4.2 million square feet of [office] construction activity under way,” the senior market analyst stated.
Redevelopment of The Post, which will be comprised of the two towers along with a mixed-use podium, is slated for completion by mid-2023.
Previously, CoStar predicted that the new inventory will lead to the area’s vacancy rate rising to around 6.5% by the end of 2023.
