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When it opens in 2017, The Exchange may be the city's most sustainable tower. Pretty impressive considering it will incorporate an 85-year-old building.  The $240M, 31-storey office tower will rise above the old stock exchange building on Howe Street and become Vancouver's first LEED Platinum heritage conversion. SwissReal CEO Franz Gehriger, the project's mastermind, tells us The Exchange will have a stormwater retention system; radiant cooling and heating; motion-controlled occupancy sensors; a raised floor plenum that distributes fresh air throughout the building; and a triple-glazed curtain wall with extended mullions that will reduce the amount of sunlight that hits the tower.  The Exchange is designed by Vancouver-based Iredale Group and lead architect Harry Gugger (who oversaw renovation of London's Tate Modern gallery and was lead architect on Beijing's Bird's Nest Stadium). It will include 370k SF of AAA office space—room for 1,700 workers (or 1,699 if Leroy is in a mood)—with retail in the podium, including pre-existing tenant Iris eyewear. Floor sizes will range from 12k SF to 14k SF. The heritage building has been gutted, a $20M job that saw removal of ceilings, floors, internal separations, plumbing, and electrical systems.  The project is the first B.C. venture for Credit Suisse, which partnered with SwissReal. No new leasing deals have been signed, but Franz says he's been pointing out the virtues of a healthier, more sustainable work environment—increased productivity and reduced absenteeism as a result of employees not being in cramped quarters with recirculated air. The updates enable a 50% reduction in energy consumption and an 85% drop in carbon emissions compared with conventional buildings, Franz says. |
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Tenants Lock In "Room To Grow" Of the 2.2M SF of new office space coming to downtown Vancouver, 1.3M has been pre-leased. Cushman & Wakefield national research director Stuart Barron tells Bisnow quite a bit of expansionary demand has been built in. Given that there hasn't been a significant new downtown office development downtown in 20 years, tenants are locking down extra space to ensure the ability for "contiguous growth," notes Stuart, who is currently out on Cape Breton Island with his family enjoying the East Coast music scene. (The Barrons are pictured here on a trip to India.) |
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Downtown Vancouver Office Vacancy Skyrockets Avison Young SVP Brian Pearson says delivery of new office inventory coupled with malaise in the mining and energy sectors—traditional drivers of downtown office space demand—has brought vacancy to the highest point in almost a decade. It's favourable for tenants, and will continue to be amid an influx of high-quality space over the next 18 months. Brian, a little league baseball coach, tells us he's eagerly anticipating "a bit of lake time" in the Okanagan this summer. |
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Scourges And Scallywags Hit The Links |
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 Colliers Victoria raised more than $52k for the BC Cancer Foundation during a recent charity golf tournament. The pirate-themed "Scourges & Scallywags" event drew 120 clients and vendors. (Pictured: Colliers staff Alan Kennedy, Amanda Zarchukoff, Sarah Davies, Laura Savage, Carla Girvin, Marc Foucher, and Damaris Przybylski.) Guests posed for photos with a blow-up parrot, tried their luck in a coconut toss, and got inked at a temporary-tattoo parlour. |
 "I got tatted up a little," Colliers Victoria managing director Dave Ganong tells Bisnow. Dave (second from right, with employees Alan Kennedy, Linda Ryder, Carla Girvin, BC Cancer Foundation's Alyssa Grace, and Colliers associate Christina Dhesi) tells us Colliers is representing the province in the disposition of non-core assets, including the sale of a six-acre property adjacent to the provincial legislature. The development, with 180k SF of office space planned, is a JV between Jawl Properties and Concert Properties. |
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