It appears as though the city of Vancouver is a victim of it’s own success. In the late 80s, the city began promoting a policy of “Living First” to encourage people to move downtown. In that time, we’ve gone from a Downtown population of 40,000 to more than 90,000 with the incredible growth and popularity of Downtown condominiums.
We are in danger, however, of our Downtown core losing it’s viability as a workplace. The business community has been raising the issue to City Hall for years, and we are currently at an all-time low for office vacancy in the Downtown core.
With building spaces at a premium, and demand for condominiums at a high, developers looked at converting office space to residential. The city placed a moratorium on these conversions four years ago. However, with an estimated 6 million sq ft of office space required for the City, they feel that more needs to be done.
The solution? Within an expanded new commercial district, planners are proposing that new office tower development be granted 20% – 40% more density. They also plan to encourage developers to build as high as possible without blocking the designated view corridors.
The City is designating a new area termed the “metro core” (everything north of 16th Ave from Clark to Arbutus). The City plans to encourage the development of office space in this region, although exactly how is not clear.
What’s the effect on residential real estate in the Downtown core? There is already a demand for more office space downtown. These changes will result in more of that space being built and thus more jobs based Downtown.
With rising fuel prices, increasing environmental consciousness, as well as the attractive lifestyle of downtown living, many of these workers will want to live within walking or biking distance of their work and thus put greater demand on the limited supply of Downtown residential condos.
Sebastian Albrecht, Vancouver Realtor with Royal LePage Westside
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