First Movers Vancouver Summer Update – 9 Notable Office Leases

Floorspace is proud to present our summer 2022 update on notable office leasing activity in Vancouver, we’ve highlighted First Movers over the past quarter – companies who have made a commitment to move, sublease, expand their footprint or renew their leases.

Q2 2022 showed more activity in the Vancouver market, as companies continue to plan their return-to-office strategies. Downtown Vancouver and the suburban markets saw positive leasing absorption the past quarter.  The overall vacancy rate currently sits at approximately 7.2% downtown (Q1 7.7%) and 5.5% in the suburbs (Q1 6.2%) with 119k being leased downtown and 419k being leased in the suburbs.

Companies understand that commute times and high-quality personalized space will potentially play a large role in attracting employees back to the office, as some employers begin to encourage or mandate employees back to the office. Although Downtown Class A buildings have been outperforming lower-quality or older space downtown, the suburban markets continue to see higher levels of absorption and lower vacancy than the Downtown core. From a national perspective, Metro Vancouver continues to hold its place as the office market with the lowest overall availability rate in Canada at 6.3% – nearly one-third of the national average around 17%.

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

Notable Office Leases in Downtown Vancouver & Periphery

1. Microsoft at 1090 West Pender Street // B6

• As reported by JLL, although the property already had a number of pre-lease commitments, these were reshuffled to accommodate Microsoft.
• The 31 -storey office building includes a 3-storey retail podium with below grade parking
• Rumored to have taken ~400,000 square feet (potentially much more)
• Currently under construction with completion estimated Q3 2023
• Property owned by BentallGreenOak. The owner’s website now reflects the property as 100% leased.

2. Sandstorm Gold at 733 Seymour Street // VCII

• Approx. 30,000 square feet across multiple floors in the high-rise
• Brand new building under construction
• Read more about the AAA quality office project with high-end amenity offering
• Property owned and developed by Great West Life Realty Advisors and HOOPP

3. Osler LLP at 1055 Dunsmuir Street // Bentall 4

• Committed to the 29^th and 30^th floors (approx. 36,000 SF)
• Space previously leased by Shopify, which was never fully occupied
• Property owned by Hudson Pacific Properties and Blackstone Real Estate

4. TD Bank at 700 West Georgia Street // TD Tower

• Expanded by ~17,000 SF on the 16^th floor
• TD occupies space across multiple floors
• Property underwent recent extensive renovation of the lobby
• Tenants of 700 West Georgia have access to the newly completed CF Terrace at 777 Dunsmuir which includes tennis and basketball courts
• Owned by Cadillac Fairview

5. Disney at 1132 Hamilton Street

• Leased ~32,000 SF over multiple floors
• Space was previously occupied by Technicolor / MPC (Motion Picture Company)
• Property owned by the Mark James Group

6. Wesgroup at 595 Burrard Street // Bentall 3

• Expanded on the 29^th floor for ~17,000 SF
• Bentall Centre has a newly renovated fitness space and rooftop dog park
• Read more about the new development at Bentall Centre – here
• Property owned by Hudson Pacific Properties and Blackstone Real Estate

7. Willow Tree at 401 West Georgia Street

• Subleased ~12,784 SF
• The software company’s first location in Canada
• Space previously occupied by a local tech company Unbounce
• Property owned by Oxford Properties

8. Lululemon at 1280 Burrard Street // Burrard Place

• Committed to 120,000 SF, which comprises the remaining office space in the building
• Recently completed Class AAA office building, also occupied by Harrison Healthcare
• Lululemon also recently expanded to a total of 107,000 SF at 1380 Burrard Street
• Burrard Place is owned by Reliance Properties and The Pattison Group

9. Gensler Architecture at 1385 West 8th Avenue

• Leased ~7,300 SF
• Gensler is one of the largest architecture firms in the world
• Property managed by WPI Warrington PCI

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The information above was obtained from sources deemed reliable (including quarterly reports from CBRE, Colliers & NAI), however, its accuracy cannot be guaranteed. Square footages are approximate.