This Glassy Wonder Coming in 2016
Soon there will be an addition to Vancouver’s ever-expanding skyline. The Exchange, which just broke ground, will be Vancouver's second-tallest LEED Platinum office tower. (Until it catches No. 1, it'll be green with envy.)
It delivers late 2016. Mayor Gregor Robertson joined Credit Suisse for the $200M Exchange's groundbreaking. (That's $33M per shovel.) The towers are a change of course, as Credit Suisse normally invests in fully developed, leased properties. CS Real Estate Asset Management director Rainer Scherwey tells us now that demand for quality office space is outpacing supply in the core, it's building from the ground up.
CBRE CEO Mark Renzoni (whose firm is handling leasing) tells us the decision to go ahead with construction positions it for the next wave of lease expirations from 2016 through 2018. The city has one of the lowest vacancy rates in North America, "so this is an important investment in Vancouver’s financial core, and it signals that global players are bullish on the future growth of the Vancouver economy,” he says.
CBRE has already seen strong interest and hopes to announce the first deal soon, Mark says. Prospective tenants want to see new builds under construction. “Then it’s really a matter of who signs the first deals in order to position themselves in the top floors,” he says. (The child's game King of the Hill never really leaves our bones.) The building's energy consumption will be half of traditional office buildings; the neighbouring Old Stock Exchange building (the image is circa 1929, not Instagram) will be renovated and restored as part of the development.
