In a pattern being repeated across Canada's major cities, office tenants are willing to pay a premium to be located close to transit in Vancouver and buildings located only a few blocks away or in suburban office parks are seeing a rise in vacancies.
Frances Bula describes the findings of two new studies conducted by the real estate services firm Jones Lang Lasalle, that look at the importance of transit in the Vancouver market.
According to Bula, "The latest of their [JLL's] 'rapid transit office index' reports concluded that tenants are willing to pay considerably more to get into a similar building that's closer to transit."
"The statistics-stuffed report concluded that tenants will pay a 22-per-cent premium in Vancouver, Surrey and Burnaby, three of the largest office markets, to be within 500 metres of a transit station. As well, vacancy rates for buildings outside that 500-metre range can go up to 25 per cent higher than a transit-oriented building in the same suburb."
Desperate business parks are increasingly providing shuttles to the nearest transit station to try to retain tenants.
"What we are hearing from tenants most often these days is that priority one is access to transit and it can't even be a walk down the street," says Brett Miller, president of Jones Lang Lasalle Real Estate Services in Canada.
Thanks to Brent Toderian
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