First Movers Q1 2023 – 8 Notable Lease Transactions

Floorspace is proud to present our Q1 2023 update on notable office leasing activity in Vancouver, British Columbia.

We have highlighted First Movers over the past quarter – companies who have made a commitment to move, sublease, expand their footprint or renew their leases. Of the 8 notable lease transactions, Floorspace is proud to have been responsible for representing clients on 50% of these deals.

As reported by CBRE, Metro Vancouver’s overall office vacancy rate increased by 160 bps to 8.4% (Q4 2022 7.8%) over the past quarter. Downtown Vancouver vacancy sits at approximately 10.4% (Q4 2022 9.8%). Over the past quarter ~66,815 SF of space in downtown Vancouver was absorbed on a net basis.

One large office project was delivered last quarter (Bosa Waterfront) adding to the ~266,000 SF of new supply to the downtown market with another ~1,653,000 SF under construction.

Follow along with Floorspace as we highlight notable leases that are completed in each quarter.

Notable Office Leases in Downtown Vancouver

1. Perkins&Will at 1075 West Georgia Street // Arthur Erickson Building

• Subleased 13,500 square feet, on an entire floor from a local video game company, with P&W relocating from their existing HQ at 1220 Homer Street in Yaletown
• Perkins&Will is a global design practice founded in 1935. Their Vancouver office was named as one of British Columbia’s top employers in 2023. Locally, their work includes 800 Granville Street, Great Northern Way Office and the office interior work for Pavilion Co-working and Bench Accounting.
• 1075 West Georgia was designed by Vancouver’s preeminent architect Arthur Erickson, in partnership with Geoffrey Massey.
• Property ownership group includes Reliance Properties, KingSett Capital and Crestpoint Real Estate Investments

2. Weta FX at 745 Thurlow Street

• Approx. 32,000 square feet across the 2nd and 3rd floors at 745 Thurlow
• Weta FX is a New Zealand-based digital visual effects company based in Miramar, Wellington. It was founded by Peter Jackson, Richard Taylor, and Jamie Selkirk in 1993 to produce the digital special effects for Heavenly Creatures. Recent work includes the Avatar franchise.
• Weta FX subleased the space from Kabam Games who also has another 16,000 square feet on the 7th floor available for sublease in the building.
• Property is managed by Quadreal Property Management

3. M Moser at 815 West Hastings Street

• Approx. 6,100 square feet (new lease)
• M Moser is a global community of interior designers, architects, engineers, workplace strategy specialists, construction professionals, office sustainability and wellness experts.
• The firm is moving from their existing location at 1140 Homer Street.
• Property is owned and managed by West Pender Property Group.

Notable Office Leases in Vancouver Periphery

4. Saje Wellness Subleases Space at 22 East 5th Ave. // Lightworks Building

• Approx. 12,000 square feet subleased from Saje to JDSF Retail Group (JD Sports Canada)
• JD Sports is a British sports-fashion retail company based in Bury, Greater Manchester, England.
• Saje Wellness had committed a pre-lease in the Lightworks Building prior to its completion in 2018.
• Property is owned and managed by Nicola Wealth Real Estate

5. Genevant Sciences at 887 Great Northern Way

• Approx. 13,000 square feet of sublease space from Anandia Labs, expanding their existing space in the building
• Genevant Sciences is a biopharmaceutical company. The Company focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of RNA-based therapeutics enabled by proprietary lipid nanoparticle (LNP) and ligand conjugate delivery technologies. 
• Property is owned and managed by Low Tide Properties

6. Specsavers at 3001 Wayburne

• Approx. 23,000 square feet
• Specsavers is a British multinational optical retail chain, which operates mainly in the UK, Ireland, Australasia, Canada and the Nordic countries.
• Property is owned by Crestpoint Real Estate Investments.

7. AbCellera subleases space at 2512 Yukon Street

• Approx. 4,900 square feet of space (sublease)
• Subtenant is Bridgeman Services specializes in the supply and management of workforce floatels and marine services.
• Sublandlord AbCellera recently announced a $701 million co-investment with the government of Canada to be new capabilities and infrastructure to strengthen Canada’s leadership in clinical research, manufacturing, and drug development.
• Property is owned by TPMG Capital.

Notable Office Leases in Vancouver Suburban

8. MDA at 13800 Commerce Parkway

• Approx. 180,000 square feet of space (lease renewal).
• MDA is a Canadian space technology company headquartered in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, that provides geointelligence, robotics & space operations, and satellite systems.
• Property is owned and managed by Peterson Real Estate Group.

FOR MORE UPDATES: Subscribe to our newsletter below or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.

The information above was obtained from sources deemed reliable (including quarterly reports from CBRE, Cresa & NAI), however, its accuracy cannot be guaranteed. All figures, including square footage are approximate.