Vernon could lead the way in converting offices to homes
COVID still has a lasting impact on how and where people work and the Greater Vernon Chamber of Commerce is recommending innovative ways to adjust to the changes.
One of those changes is that more people are still working from home which translates into less need for office space.
“You’ve got to be adaptable,” Chamber general manager Dan Proulx told iNFOnews.ca. “If anything, the last couple of years have taught us that’s what we need to do.”
A new study by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce tracks changes in mobility in 153 Canadian cities through COVID and up to the end of September.
It shows Vernon has 13.3% less mobility than before the pandemic, meaning fewer people are commuting to work.
The rate is even higher in Kelowna with 17.7% fewer people commuting to work in the region as a whole and 21.4% downtown.
Kamloops comes in at 10.6% fewer commuters over all and 18.8% downtown.
“Many employees headed home as the pandemic began and they continue to work from there,” Proulx said in a news release. “Not only has that meant empty offices, but it has led to reduced foot traffic in areas such as downtown, impacting restaurants and shops that used to attract those office workers. With many offices sitting empty, there could be an opportunity to transform them into studio suites or apartments.”
He doesn’t have hard data on the number of vacant offices in Vernon but pointed to a couple of former bank buildings on Vernon’s main street that have sat empty for a number of years.
That city’s Official Community Plan is up for review so he’s lobbying to have it include a change to allow housing in office buildings.
The picture may be different in Kelowna where two large-scale office buildings are under construction, including the 17-storey Block in the downtown area and the 23-storey Landmark 7 in the Capri-Landmark area.
The Hive in Kamloops is showing 75% of the units in its first of three office buildings are sold or pre-leased.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t vacant offices in those cities that could be converted, especially if businesses move into the new office buildings.
Converting them wouldn't be easy, with issues like parking to sort out, Proulx noted.
He pointed to Calgary as an example of a city that has started converting offices.
It has a $100 million downtown conversion fund to deal with its high office vacancy rate with the aim of taking six million square feet of offices off the market.
So far, it has contributed $73 million to help convert 665,000 square feet of office space into 707 housing units.
A recently published article in MacLean’s magazine features an interview with Ken Toews, senior vice-president of development at Strategic Group. It has created 2,100 conversions in Edmonton and Calgary.
He points out that most office buildings are not suitable for residential.
For one thing, an apartment is usually about 30 feet long but the configuration of office buildings require them to be 45 feet, he said.
Air circulation, heating and cooling systems have to be converted from office to residential formats, according to Maxim Olshevsky who is with Peoplefirst Developments that did a Calgary conversion projects. He's cited in a June Calgary Herald article.
On the plus side, converted apartments are usually cheaper to rent than newly built. He cites a two-bedroom unit renting for $1,700 a month in a conversion versus $2,200 in new buildings.
READ MORE: Expect rent to keep rising in Kamloops, Okanagan as home prices fall
“Vernon, like many communities, is experiencing a housing crunch and affordability is increasingly an issue for families and employers who cannot attract workers,” Proulx said.
Tower also noted that it can take 18 months to do a 120-unit conversion versus three to six years for a highrise.
Overall, 7% fewer Canadians are commuting to work, the Chamber of Commerce study says.
In B.C., 8.2% fewer are commuting. At the other extreme, Saskatchewan has 46.1% more workers commuting.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Rob Munro or call 250-808-0143 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.
We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.
