Calgary accounted for more than half the value of all office deals in Western Canada in the first half of 2025, according to data from Altus Group.
The city saw 26 deals worth $479 million in the first half of the year, versus 104 deals valued at $830 million in Western Canada as a whole.
The value of deals in the first half of this year outstripped the tally of $435 million on a total of 64 deals the city saw all of last year, as private investors seized opportunities in a market that continues to right-size its space requirements.
CBRE Ltd. reported an office vacancy rate of 26.4 per cent at the end of the second quarter, driven by a 30.7 vacancy rate downtown.
The most recent deal in the city was the sale of the former Chevron Plaza, a 25-storey office tower at 500 Fifth Ave. SW, Calgary, on Aug. 1 for $17 million.
Calgary-based Strategic Group acquired the property with plans to convert the 338,000-square-foot structure to 332 residential units. Built in 1982, the building is in exceptional condition and features an efficient floor plate. Connected to Calgary's Plus 15 pedestrian walkway system, it represented an ideal candidate for residential conversion.
Ryan Murphy, Casey Stuart and Kara Dusseldorp of JLL Capital Markets handled the sale on behalf of Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., which acquired the property last fall as part of a US$6.5 billion deal for Chevron’s Alberta assets.
“This transaction represents a significant adaptive reuse opportunity in Calgary's evolving real estate market, transforming underutilized office space into much-needed residential units,” JLL noted in announcing the sale.
JLL reports a total of 13 office deals worth $5 million and over in the Calgary market this year to date, indicating a fairly even distribution across office types.
However, lower-class assets are showing some of the greatest upside, according to Ray Wong, vice-president, data operations, with Altus Group, which tracks deals worth $1 million and up.
“They’re selling for just land value, or redevelopment opportunities,” he said of Class B and C offices.
While institutional investors have been net sellers, private investors have stepped up as pricing has created buying opportunities.
“We’re going to see some opportunistic buys in the office sector still, because the resale [value] is still way below the higher replacement cost,” Wong said. “There is some opportunity to acquire certain assets at certain pricing.”
