Calgary office vacancy rate falling, no new builds: report
Fewer Calgary offices are sitting empty than in the past two years, according to a new report from commercial real estate services and investment firm CBRE Canada.
CBRE’s Q1 Canada Office Figures, released on Tuesday, show Calgary’s office vacancy rate is sitting at 28 per cent, down from a record high of 33.7 per cent in 2022.
Calgary still has the highest downtown office vacancy rate in the country at 30 per cent, compared to 18 per cent nationally, but the influx of people to Alberta shows promise for change according to Greg Kwong, CBRE Alberta regional managing director.
CBRE says the data suggests no office projects broke ground at the beginning of 2024, a first in many years, giving office markets a chance to catch their breath after a tumultuous post-pandemic period.
Calgary did get new space finished this quarter, and when Uxborough Medical came to the market it was 60 per cent pre-leased.
High construction costs and fewer move-in-ready spaces have created challenges for Calgarytenants wanting to relocate, according to the report.
Multi-floor tenants looking to move are especially limited, with few options available in Calgary over 50,000 sq. ft.
Converting former offices into residential units is part of the solution, but a small piece.
Kwong said getting people back to working from their offices more days a week and companies hiring more staff would make the biggest difference.
He said the energy sector continues to take up the vast majority of office space.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Prince William and Kate release photo of daughter Charlotte to mark ninth birthday
Prince William and his wife Kate released a picture of their daughter Charlotte to mark the princess's ninth birthday on Thursday.
Weight-loss drug Wegovy available in Canada starting May 6
The makers of Ozempic say their weight-loss drug Wegovy will be available to patients in Canada starting Monday.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Goring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
NEW A mother's hopes to free her son from a Syrian prison is revitalized by a new human rights report
Just days before the seventh anniversary of the day Jack Letts was thrown in prison with thousands of suspected ISIS fighters, his mother, Sally Lane, delivered a small stack of envelopes to the headquarters of Global Affairs Canada in Ottawa.
NEW Companies letting customers opt out of Mother's Day ads
In an effort to balance the profitability of Mother's Day with the pain it causes some people, some brands are offering customers the choice to opt out of Mother's Day email advertising.
DEVELOPING Police begin removing barricades at a pro-Palestinian demonstrators' encampment at UCLA
Police removed barricades and began dismantling a pro-Palestinian demonstrators’ fortified encampment early Thursday at the UCLA campus after hundreds of protesters defied police orders to leave, about 24 hours after counter-protesters attacked a tent encampment on the campus.
Dental care program accepting claims for 1 million seniors
Citizens' Services Minister Terry Beech says 1,200 seniors have already visited a dentist and had their claims processed by the federal government's new dental care plan.
Concerns about Plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall Plexiglass barriers.
NEW Facial reconstruction reveals what a 40-something Neanderthal woman may have looked like
Scientists studying a Neanderthal woman's remains have painstakingly pieced together her skull from 200 bone fragments to understand what she may have looked like.