New building in downtown Vancouver will help to ease office vacancy concerns

Credit Suisse, one of the top 10 real estate investors in the world, have announced they will build a $200 million 31-storey office tower on the old stock exchange building site in the 400-block of Howe Street.

As one of the top 10 real estate investors in the world, Credit Suisse is proud to make its first investment in British Columbia, Director of Credit Suisse Real Estate Rainer Scherwey said today.

That building will be LEED platinum certified. LEED is a rating system that categorizes green buildings.

There are also six other office buildings under construction in the city, but even these spaces will not satisfy the demand for office space in Vancouver.

The citys vacancy rate is currently at 5.5 per cent. Compare that to Midtown Manhattan, which is about 8 per cent and San Francisco, which is the tightest commercial market in the U.S., at 7.6 per cent.

Downtown Vancouver is now near the bottom of the vacancy rate of any major city in North America.

The demand for new buildings is rising very quickly,Mark Renzoni,CBRE Canada President and CEO, said. Tenants are looking for new sustainable environments for their work space.

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson hopes these new buildings will help end the vacancy concerns.

The seven new towers that are still under construction will provide more than 2 million square feet of new office space.

Shaw Media, 2014

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New building in downtown Vancouver will help to ease office vacancy concerns