Downtown Real Estate

[Edmcowboy11]

So for educational institutions, just recently we already have the U of A which has announced more staff for Enterprise Square and MacEwan not too far away which has announced a new business building and which has already grown considerably downtown in the last several decades.

The business sector in Edmonton is fairly suburban, so it may be a weaker link. Although the insurance company which recently announced it was moving downtown is also a bit of good news. Edmonton is getting to the size where you can't necessarily serve the whole city well from the west end or south side, so being downtown does offer a more central location.

There continues to be residential development downtown, so I think eventually it might also be people who live there that will push back if a business or organization they work for wants to move elsewhere.

I do see the past several years as a bit bleak, but I think the future may be a lot better.

Don't forget the investment made by Norquest college. They are also transforming their little section of downtown. Hopefully they will continue to expand their offerings. I'd love to see them build their proposed expansion on the west side of 108st.

 

[Greenspace]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/empty-downtown-office-space-could-be-converted-to-residential-edmonton-city-councillor-says-1.6800900

 

[IanO]

As we have seen, heard, experienced ourselves, conversions are exceptionally tricky, often inefficient and can be a poor solution for aging, functionally obsolete or empty towers.

I do hope that we reinvest in some of them to inject life into those buildings and areas, but it's far from straightforward.

 

[David A]

Yes, this is something that has been talked about in Edmonton and elsewhere, actually for a long time and it can be tricky. Interesting City Council has finally picked up on the issue.

Also interesting is that the Councillor commenting on it here is not a downtown councillor. I think that one might still be MIA on downtown issues.

 

[Greenspace]

We actually did this quite a bit in the early 2000's, so this is nothing new.

Councillor Knack is making the motion because apparently this was one of his campaign promises. Councillor Stevenson is fully aware (anything happening in another councillor's ward is usually with their knowledge and input).

 

[Gronk!]

Optimism persists as Downtown office vacancy rate hits 23.5 per cent

With the vacancy rate for Edmonton's Downtown office space continuing to climb, some with eyes on the market still see hope on the horizon.

edmontonjournal.com

 

[Romanov]

Details - Cushman & Wakefield Edmonton

For Sale: Roper Business Centre 5626 72 Street, Edmonton, Alberta 5,992 square feet of main and second floor office condo Cushman & Wakefield Edmonton

cwedm.com

Found out Rohit owns this One Twelve campus. Wonder if we see a large user move in soon.

 

[David A]

We actually did this quite a bit in the early 2000's, so this is nothing new.

Councillor Knack is making the motion because apparently this was one of his campaign promises. Councillor Stevenson is fully aware (anything happening in another councillor's ward is usually with their knowledge and input).

Kudo's to Councillor Knack, both for taking the initiative and following up on his campaign promise.

 

[David A]

Optimism persists as Downtown office vacancy rate hits 23.5 per cent

With the vacancy rate for Edmonton's Downtown office space continuing to climb, some with eyes on the market still see hope on the horizon.

edmontonjournal.com

Perhaps that is the glass half full response, our vacancy rate was already fairly high and did not really increase that much due to COVID.

Edmonton wasn't over built for offices, like some other cities where things went from boom to bust. Hopefully, vacancy will gradually start coming down soon.

 

[Greenspace]

We've had new A class offices built over the last 10 years that has forced older buildings to upgrade or convert to residential. It also underscores how important government is to our Downtown, some of which leases expire in a few years from now and won't have an immediate impact on vacancy rates.

This just continues an existing trend of encouraging more residential development, which has been the focus for over 25 years already.

 

[IanO]

A distinct flight to quality, albeit less overall space, is happening in most markets and so we will see more B, C assets with increased vacancy and little option before them other than consideration for conversions. As many of us know though, these are very tricky and not feasible for some.

 

[David A]

I do wonder as Edmonton continues to become a larger city, if the corporate component will start to become a bit bigger part and the government one not quite as important.

I agree a lot of the smaller square boxy office buildings from the 70's and on are not easy to convert to residential. It will be challenging to figure out what to do with them.

 

[CaptainBL]

I do wonder as Edmonton continues to become a larger city, if the corporate component will start to become a bit bigger part and the government one not quite as important.

What momentum, initiatives, track record, marketing, or interest groups (whether that is city council, the mayor specifically, Edmonton Global, the AB government or others) has provided any kind of inkling that the corporate component will start to become bigger for downtown Edmonton?

Is that just pure speculation? I am genuinely curious because as much as I would love for that to be the case and very much think that needs to happen, I have seen absolutely no indication today or historically from anywhere or anyone that downtown Edmonton will start to see a bigger corporate presence.

 

[occidentalcapital]

You can simply look at the jobs numbers from StatsCan and see already that public service jobs are a dwindling percentage of overall white collar jobs for Edmonton. We haven't really been a government town for a couple decades but in the last 5 it's really been emphasized.

 

[David A]

What momentum, initiatives, track record, marketing, or interest groups (whether that is city council, the mayor specifically, Edmonton Global, the AB government or others) has provided any kind of inkling that the corporate component will start to become bigger for downtown Edmonton?

Is that just pure speculation? I am genuinely curious because as much as I would love for that to be the case and very much think that needs to happen, I have seen absolutely no indication today or historically from anywhere or anyone that downtown Edmonton will start to see a bigger corporate presence.

I wouldn't say pure speculation. It seems to make sense that a larger community would both create more businesses, some would be larger, and also justify the cost and effort of for businesses from elsewhere setting up offices here focused on our market.

I know some people here are entrenched in a branch plant mentality, but one of my screens for vendors I deal with is whether they have a significant local presence and I do go give preference to that.