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FRANK O’BRIEN
V
ancouver’s shiny new office towers – and, more directly, older office buildings – face a near-existential threat: acres of empty space if the stubborn COVID-19 virus continues to keep tenants and employees away.
Vacant space in the 23-million-square-foot downtown office sector nearly doubled during the first 14 months of the pandemic to 1.6 million square feet, including about 600,000 square feet of subleases shoved back onto the market since the pandemic hit. This translates into 36 acres of empty concrete and carpeted space, or nearly half the size of all new downtown office towers currently under construction. But 80% of the vacancy is in older Class A, B and C office buildings, not in the new Class AAA towers, where the vacancy rate was just 1.6% in the first quarter of 2021, according to Colliers International. The pandemic has underlined a flight to quality that could translate into even higher demand for new offices. It will most certainly lead to changes in older properties trying to retain and attract the one indispensable ingredient: people. Yet, as remote work becomes more entrenched, a substantial number of employees say they are reluctant to ever commute back to the office. About one-third of Canadian professionals currently working from home due to the pandemic would quit and look for a new job if required to be in the office full-time, according to a March 2021 survey by global staffing firm Robert Half. More than half of all employees surveyed said they prefer a hybrid work arrangement, where they can divide time between the office and another location. In addition, workers may not be ready to return to the office without some incentives to sweeten the welcome. The top suggestions on the wish list: allowing greater freedom to set office hours, employer-paid commuting costs, a relaxed dress code and providing childcare. “After more than a year of uncertainty and pandemic-induced remote work, there is a growing desire among some
OPPOSITE PAGE:
New LEED- and WELL-certified towers such as 1166
West Pender have a healthy edge over older properties • RELIANCE
OPPOSITbusiness leaders to return to business as usual,” says David King, Canadian senior district president of Robert Half. “However, companies should be prepared for a potential disconnect between their ideal work structures and that of their employees.” Some professionals have also expressed frustrations about working from home full-time, citing loss of relationships with co-workers, less access to training, fewer career opportunities and decreased productivity. WELCOMING WORKERS BACK
This gives office landlords and employers a clue to what should be done to lure more workers back to the desk, says Maury Dubuque, senior managing director at Colliers International in Vancouver. Colliers recently published a Back to Office Primer for landlords and tenants, and some of the recommendations speak to potential long-term changes in how workspaces are being modified. The first changes will be seen in deep and consistent cleaning, which will not only require touchpoints to be eliminated or continually cleaned, but also the stockpiling of cleaning and safety supplies, such as sanitizers, masks, face shields and gloves, which should hopefully be a shortterm requirement. Configuration of actual work spaces, however, will require physical alterations to space layouts and furnishings. Colliers’ recommendations, culled from interviews with office managers, tenants and owners over the past year, include rotating open workstation desks so people do not face each other, and leaving every second desk vacant. This, Dubuque says, does not necessarily mean that tenants will need more office space to accommodate physical distancing. He says a likely future will mean a hybrid model of people who spend less than half the week in the office and the rest of the time working remotely. Smith Legal Search managing partner Warren Smith estimates that while most Vancouver law firm offices are about
PROPERTIES
SIX QUICK TIPS FOR A HEALTHIER OFFICE SPACE The following are tips, gleaned from Colliers International and BOMA BC, on making an office space more welcoming to tenants during and post-pandemic. ʰ ʰ
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Keep everything clean and post certifications that cleaning has been done. Require employees to “qualify” to return to the workplace by completing online training for new workplace hygiene, and a signed form that declares they are free of COVID-19 symptoms. Stagger employee arrival and departure hours to limit densities in elevator cabs and entrances.
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Make cleaning visible throughout the day to help reduce employees’ stress levels and build trust. Remove every second seat in boardrooms. Consider the mental health of employees. Establish quiet spaces for personal restoration or meditation. Make available meditation apps, counselling and support.
2021-05-12 9:37 AM