Vancouver’s notoriously low office vacancy rate doesn’t look to be easing up any time soon.
Citing sources, Bloomberg reports that Apple Inc. plans to take up two storeys at Westbank Corp.'s new development at 400 West Georgia Street.
The tower, still under construction, sits across from the old Canada Post building where Amazon.com, Inc. is planning to take up 416,000 square feet in the redeveloped site as it adds 3,000 workers in the coming years.
Apple did not respond to an inquiry from Business in Vancouver.
A report released earlier this week by real estate services firm CBRE reveals Vancouver surging as a top destination for tech companies.
This year the city jumped 13 spots to No. 12 when ranked against 50 North American markets, according to the 2019 Scouting Tech Talent report.
CBRE Vancouver vice-president Jason Kiselback told BIV tech giants along the West Coast are being increasingly drawn to Vancouver due to the low cost associated with operating a business.
Average sector wages are relatively low in Vancouver — $80,857 compared with $169,461 in San Francisco — keeping employer costs down, while average office rent is pegged at $3.27 million per 75,000 square feet.
CBRE found that Vancouver was the second-cheapest city in which to operate among 50 markets analyzed.
