545 replies to this topic

[Mike K.]

And I forgot about Argus on Fort Street, built specifically for the Offices of the Auditor General of British Columbia.

[Victoria Watcher]

High profile office and retail building on the corner of Fort and Blanshard. CA required for further information. All offers must be subject to Court approval. Upon review and an acceptance by the Seller, an application will be made to the Court for approval. The closing of the transaction will not be more than 30 days from date of Court approval. 

 

$6,400,000

 

https://www.realtor....ctoria-downtown

 

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 01 December 2021 - 07:15 AM.

[Nparker]

This corner could use a refresh.

[Mike K.]

2/3's of $10 million just to tear down the building might be a challenge. I recall there was a lot of foreign student agency activity in that building. Maybe those tenant(s) have closed up.

[Victoria Watcher]

2/3's of $10 million just to tear down the building might be a challenge. I recall there was a lot of foreign student agency activity in that building. Maybe those tenant(s) have closed up.

 

Yes, that's what I recall too.  So maybe lack of lease money caused the owner to default on their mortgage. 

[Citified.ca]

Valuable market insight from the managing director of CBRE's Vancouver office, and the head office for British Columbia.

 

Jason Kiselbach, Senior Vice President and Managing Director of the Vancouver office of commercial real-estate brokerage CBRE, chats about the commercial real-estate market in 2021, and what the industry can expect for 2022 and beyond.

 

2021 commercial real-estate market recap and a look to the future with Jason Kiselbach of CBRE Vancouver

https://victoria.cit...cbre-vancouver/

[Victoria Watcher]

$2,275,000

 

https://www.realtor....ctoria-downtown

 

 

21 21 Dallas Rd

 

 

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 13 January 2022 - 11:24 AM.

[Nparker]

Is it discounted based on the hideous carpeting?

[Victoria Watcher]

Is it discounted based on the hideous carpeting?

 

Make your full-price offer and they might throw in all new carpet.

[spanky123]

Took a wander downtown yesterday and spoke with a few merchants. It was a nice day but there were very few people on the street or in shops. According to the business owners I spoke with, it has been very soft since the new year started with many people electing to continue to work from home with the latest covid restrictions and concerns in place.

 

As we are now coming up on 2 years since offices first vacated you have to wonder if any of them, other than Government, are coming back in anywhere near the numbers they once did. So many new buildings and developments are betting heavily on a return of tech workers but those I have spoken with in the industry say that people have been working from home for so long now that it isn't going to change to any meaningful extent.

 

Most of the larger tech companies in town are owned by foreign companies so $20K a month for office space is a drop in the bucket and nobody has been too concerned about trying to sub-let unused space, but now that those leases are coming up for renewal you have to wonder what is going to happen and how that might impact new developments. Apparently there have been a few local companies that have tried to require people to come back to the office but when staff threatened to resign they changed policy back to remote work.

[Victoria Watcher]

Took a wander downtown yesterday and spoke with a few merchants. It was a nice day but there were very few people on the street or in shops. According to the business owners I spoke with, it has been very soft since the new year started with many people electing to continue to work from home with the latest covid restrictions and concerns in place.

 

As we are now coming up on 2 years since offices first vacated you have to wonder if any of them, other than Government, are coming back in anywhere near the numbers they once did. So many new buildings and developments are betting heavily on a return of tech workers but those I have spoken with in the industry say that people have been working from home for so long now that it isn't going to change to any meaningful extent.

 

Most of the larger tech companies in town are owned by foreign companies so $20K a month for office space is a drop in the bucket and nobody has been too concerned about trying to sub-let unused space, but now that those leases are coming up for renewal you have to wonder what is going to happen and how that might impact new developments. Apparently there have been a few local companies that have tried to require people to come back to the office but when staff threatened to resign they changed policy back to remote work.

 

I believe that at best 75% are coming back full time.   That's a pretty huge swing, even if some of the 25% come back a few days per month.

 

I wonder if maybe someone with strong knowledge of monthly parking pass sales can tell us much.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 19 January 2022 - 08:47 AM.

[spanky123]

I believe that at best 75% are coming back full time.   That's a pretty huge swing, even if some of the 25% come back a few days per month.

 

I wonder if maybe someone with strong knowledge of monthly parking pass sales can tell us much.

 

Many people (especially Government) have retained their monthly parking passes because there is so little availability. My partner has a pass for downtown and her lot is "sold out" but there is rarely ever more than 20% of the spots filled.

 

The CoV website has said there is no availability for monthly passes since before the pandemic started.

 

I think the tech industry will at best see 25% of its workers return downtown. The other big trend that is happening is that local companies are hiring remote workers to gain access to a broader range of talent. I know of one local company that now hires less than 20% of its staff from Victoria whereas it used to be 100%.

Edited by spanky123, 19 January 2022 - 08:55 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

What about all those workers in Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver office towers?

 

I say at best 75% come back.  

[Nparker]

...As we are now coming up on 2 years since offices first vacated you have to wonder if any of them, other than Government, are coming back in anywhere near the numbers they once did. ..

And BC Government workers aren't coming back to their offices anytime soon either.

...As you know, the ongoing COVID-19 situation has not substantively improved in recent weeks and the Provincial Health Officer continues to recommend those who can work from home continue to do so. That being the case, we will continue to defer implementing telework agreements until further notice...

 

Lori Wanamaker
Deputy Minister to the Premier,
Cabinet Secretary and Head of the BC Public Service

[Mike K.]

CoV no longer issues monthly parking, I thought? Existing passes are being phased out as they are nixed. I bet lots of people aren’t aware that when they return to work their ‘pass’ will now be a daily parking fee.

What we’re going to see is this:
- C class office buildings will feel the biggest hit, as more monied tenants move up to vacated A and B spaces
- C class buildings will assess conversions into residential
- Retail is going to have to pursue Amazon-proof and COVID-proof tenants more than they did in the past, meaning competition will be much stronger for those tenants than before.

We’re likely to see more services in retail spaces than merchant retailers moving forward. Food and drink continues to be strong in Victoria (as each lifting of restrictions proves), but I just don’t know how this town can support its per-capita share of that segment with a decimated tourism industry.

Which brings me to tourism. It’s going to go bananas when COVID ends or becomes managed. But we’ve lost 2,000 hotel rooms over the last decade, and hundreds of central hotel/motel rooms since 2020 alone, so womp womp.

[Nparker]

There's been a lifting of restrictions? 

[AllseeingEye]

Took a wander downtown yesterday and spoke with a few merchants. It was a nice day but there were very few people on the street or in shops. According to the business owners I spoke with, it has been very soft since the new year started with many people electing to continue to work from home with the latest covid restrictions and concerns in place.

 

As we are now coming up on 2 years since offices first vacated you have to wonder if any of them, other than Government, are coming back in anywhere near the numbers they once did. So many new buildings and developments are betting heavily on a return of tech workers but those I have spoken with in the industry say that people have been working from home for so long now that it isn't going to change to any meaningful extent.

 

Most of the larger tech companies in town are owned by foreign companies so $20K a month for office space is a drop in the bucket and nobody has been too concerned about trying to sub-let unused space, but now that those leases are coming up for renewal you have to wonder what is going to happen and how that might impact new developments. Apparently there have been a few local companies that have tried to require people to come back to the office but when staff threatened to resign they changed policy back to remote work.

 

 

I am actually on a Teams call as I write this and I can say for our firm - we're not "government" but we are contracted to government - there are currently zero conversations happening between our firm and the client ministry with respect to a return to the office. And as they are the client paying the bills the ministry most definitely has a direct bearing on when or if we return any time soon. Essentially its their call.....

 

As we have 4-5 office leases and close to 500 staff (normally) located literally in the middle of downtown, our absence I'm quite sure contributes significantly to the lack of bodies and/or foot traffic and/or 'soft' sales being experienced by many retailers. Sounds very much as if we will continue working from home for the foreseeable future.

Edited by AllseeingEye, 19 January 2022 - 02:44 PM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Commercial real estate firm Avison Young says the city’s downtown office vacancy rate ticked down in the fourth quarter of 2021, to 29.7 per cent from 29.9 per cent.

 

Calgary’s downtown real estate market has been at record high levels since the fourth quarter of 2019. 

 

Nearly 1.3 million square metres of office space in the city’s core sits empty.

 

 

 

https://www.todayvil...covid-pandemic/

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 31 January 2022 - 08:59 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

First time on the market, this property has been held in the Wilson family since its inception, and is rich in Victoria's history. 

 

$4,500,000

 

1221 Government St.

 

 

 

 

 

Avison Victoria is pleased to offer this premier historic commercial building for sale on one of the most prominent corners of Government Street in the Old Town District of Victoria, steps from the Inner Harbour. The building is well situated within the Government Street shopping precinct at the foot of famous Trounce Alley. First time on the market, this property has been held in the Wilson family since its inception, and is rich in Victorias history. The original building dates from the 1870s but the current facade was designed in 1912. The building comprises a single storey structure with extensive lower level and basement area with stairwell access from Government Street and Trounce Alley. Supplementary information will be made available to qualified parties after signing a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). In order to provide Buyers with sufficient time to review supplementary information and tour the property, the Sellers will invite offers not in advance of March 24th, 2022. 

 

https://www.realtor....ctoria-downtown

 

 

 

 

 

May, 2021:

 

 

 

But by the end of summer, North America’s oldest family-run clothing store will shutter its downtown shop and consolidate in its satellite stores in the suburbs.

 

The closing will end an incredible 159-year downtown run for W&J Wilson, spanning seven generations split between two families. The store, on the original site a few steps from the walls of where the Fort Victoria trading post once stood, is being put up for lease by descendants of the Wilson family who still own the property and now live in Vancouver.

 

The Thompson family, which has owned the business since 1956, said a combination of factors played a role in their decision to close, citing changing demographics and clothing preferences, increased panhandling and crime, and their loyal customer base saying they would rather shop in the Sidney or Oak Bay stores than venture downtown.

 

https://www.timescol...-stores-4689627

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 14 March 2022 - 01:39 PM.

[Nparker]

 

 

The Thompson family, which has owned the business since 1956, said a combination of factors played a role in their decision to close, citing changing demographics and clothing preferences, increased panhandling and crime, and their loyal customer base saying they would rather shop in the Sidney or Oak Bay stores than venture downtown

Thanks Lisa.