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Considering Office Space for Lease in Calgary? 2022 is the Time to Move.

An image of tall blue skyscrapers in front of a blue sky with white fluffy clouds in Calgary, Alberta, Canada

After a long stretch of empty office spaces and overall gloom and doom in Calgary’s downtown office space, it looks like the tide is finally turning. 

“It’s really been quite a dreary time for Calgary’s downtown office space in recent years,” says John Savard, owner of Bedrock Realty Advisors. “We’ve seen a lot of factors, both pre-and post-pandemic which led to high vacancy rates for the last few years.” 

Taking a walk downtown is all you need to see to understand just how empty Calgary’s downtown has become since the 2014 oil and gas bust, followed closely by a pandemic which aggravated an already slow market. This resulted in the city hitting a new vacancy milestone, with one-third of Calgary office space vacant and negative absorption since 2017.

But as of Q4 of 2021, we’re starting to see a turn in the market. 

“In Q4 we actually hit the first positive absorption since 2017,” says Savard. “It wasn’t huge at just under 18,000 sq. ft., but it gives us some optimism that the tide is turning.” 

CBRE, Avison Young and other real estate and investment groups seem to agree. As the Covid pandemic restrictions ease, return-to-work policies come back into place and industries like tech and oil and gas start to burgeon, the future is starting to look bright in Calgary’s downtown office space again. 

“We’re starting to see the growth of the tech industry bringing in a lot of new leases,” says Savard. “And oil and gas commodity prices are really bringing a vitality back to the market, pushing economic activity and bringing new tenants back to the downtown as they look to re-hire and repopulate their operations.” 

Savard says this has been a mix of new tenants and tenants looking to relocate from the suburbs, a market that may have previously been unavailable or out of their price range. “There is a lot of great space out there, high quality space is still abundant and well-priced, but we do expect that to change.” 

Forecasters see slow but steady growth coming back to Calgary’s office space market, meaning moderate price increases and decreasing vacancy rate. “This will first come to the higher quality spaces, which are already seeing lower vacancy rates,” says Savard. “But it will eventually cascade to all the other classes of office space as well.” 

For people who are looking for downtown office space, Savard says now is the time to make your move. 

“If you’re looking for office space in Calgary’s downtown, especially higher quality space, it’s time to take advantage and lock in those affordable lease rates. There is still a lot of choices available, but you’ll want to get in while the market is still relatively soft.” 

If you want to look for space online, you can do it right from this website. Check out our Commercial Lease Search Engine – this easy tool will allow you to quickly find the downtown office space that suits your needs. Just enter your criteria and we’ll send you a report with your results. 

If you have any questions about Bedrock Realty Advisors, contact us.

 

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Three Great Reasons Why You Should Lease Office Space in Downtown Calgary

Calgary Commercial Real Estate

The recession hit Calgary hard. There is no getting around that. Yet, despite the fallout, slow recovery, and the impact it had on Calgary’s downtown commercial spaces, there are plenty of reasons for optimism. As per Colliers International Calgary Downtown Office Market Report Q2 2019, the downtown core’s vacancy rate is just above 24 per cent, which is roughly 1.5 per cent lower than 2018. However, that number is actually 14 per cent higher than a balanced market vacancy rate. While the report notes that high vacancy rates will continue in the near future, migration to the downtown core is expected. In fact, if you are looking for Calgary office space for lease downtown, now may be the best time to sign a contract.

Here are three reasons why you should be eyeing the downtown core for your commercial location:

1. Low Lease Rates

The Globe and Mail report that Calgary’s downtown office values fell by 32 percent by the end of 2018. This is a shocking statistic for many, but welcome news for new, emerging, and tech-focused companies that typically avoided the high rents of Calgary’s hottest commercial location. Attractive lease rates provide powerful motivation for small businesses and startups to operate downtown, effectively rebuilding the core with a more diverse range of products and services. If you are a small business, a business looking to relocate, a startup, or a company considering a move to Calgary, now is the time to take advantage of Calgary’s office space for lease downtown.

2. Growing popularity

In addition to attractive rates, Calgary office space for lease downtown is getting a boost by the increase in property taxes levied on buildings outside of the core. Now, being outside of the core means higher property taxes, less access to transit, and fewer amenities for both staff and patrons. These are some of the reasons why migration is increasing into the core. Downtown office space is growing in popularity. Getting in now secures your spot before it’s too late.

3. Industry Diversity

As Calgary continues to push for a more diverse economy and offers attractive incentives for the tech, healthcare, education, etc. sectors to take a closer look at the city, Calgary’s downtown can expect a comeback that features a new array of corporations. In the past Calgary office space for lease, downtown was dominated by the energy sector. The future is wide open. Efforts are in place to attract local and foreign investment to the downtown core. Again, the time to act is now if you want to secure a location in the most convenient part of the city.

So, what are you waiting for? The lower prices and push to diversify means downtown is poised for a spectacular comeback, and you can take advantage of it by securing a lease today. Bedrock Realty Advisors prides itself on offering solid advice. Let us help you find your ideal Calgary office space for lease downtown. Want to learn more about what sort of office spaces are available? Use our Office Locator Tool today at and we’ll send you a list of spaces that fit your needs and budget!

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Bedrock Featured in CREB

John Savard was recently quoted in CREB Now as an expert in the Office Space for lease Calgary market. Below is a portion of the article. Read the Full Article.

Commercial real estate felt the pinch of a slumping economy in 2016 and Calgary’s suburban office market was no exception.

From headleases – between a landlord and a tenant – to subleases – where a tenant puts some of their excess space on the market – commercial real estate outside the core had its challenges.

“A significant amount of very, very large blocks of vacancies are available on the sublease market and the head lease market, for that matter, and we have not seen a great number of tenants going in to take those spaces,’’ said John Savard, principal, office leasing specialist with Bedrock Realty Advisors Inc.
Suburban office vacancy rose 0.3 percent during the fourth quarter of 2016 to 22.6 percent, according to a recent Barclay Street Real Estate report.

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John Savard of Bedrock Properties Ltd., discusses Calgary’s commercial real estate market with CREB Now. Click photo to view full article.