A warning that older Vancouver office buildings will have to spruce up or go dark in the face of new competition has been taken to heart by Reliance Properties Ltd., which has completed an award-winning heritage office makeover in the Crosstown area.
With about two million square feet of fancy Class AAA office space coming to the downtown, Colliers International recently noted the pressure facing landlords with lower-class properties.
In a third quarter report, Colliers predicted a “flight to value for office tenants” because buildings offer more efficient and technologically superior space. “Older Class A and Class B buildings will see the largest increases in vacancy,” said Murray Dubuque, managing director of Colliers Vancouver.
“The type of tenants in the market for office space are looking for a combination of value, unique space and a great location,” he explained. “Technology tenants tend to prefer office space within heritage buildings found in locations like Gastown, Railtown and Yaletown that offer a distinctive ‘retro’ feel, or, new modern buildings with large floor plates that are located close to amenities.”
If that is the measure, Reliance appears to have met it.
Reliance has redeveloped a 105-year old heritage office building at 564 Beatty Street – near Gastown and the Station SkyTrain station – that turned Class B space into 50,000 square feet of Class A premises. The six-storey brick-and-beam building was completely refurbished and four storeys of contemporary offices added above.
Open less than a year, it is 95% leased. Base rents are $17.50 per square foot, compared to an average of $21.00 per month for downtown office space.
The project is closely watched because it holds the potential for transforming older and underused Vancouver office buildings into higher-value space, while retaining a retro edge. Levels two through six are fully restored heritage brick and beam, while levels seven through 10 are new construction.
“The finished result is a LEED Gold building in a contemporary simple cubic form made of glass and steel atop the restored heritage façade,” said Reliance president Jon Stovell.
“What makes this project unique is the extent to which we preserved the original building: we did not gut the inside and rebuild, rather we maintained the old building – floors, columns, ceilings, walls – while performing the seismic upgrade, reinforcing the building footings, and constructing the new floors on top,” explained David Bowyer, construction manager with ITC Construction Group.
A highlight of the project is an accessible rooftop that incorporates a complete kitchen, a patio and a green roof. It is designed as a functional outdoor space, much like newer office towers, such as the Telus Garden, are doing, according to Stovell.
The project required the refurbishing or duplication of the heritage windows to meet modern energy standards. High-performance curtainwall glazing was installed on the top floors.
The project took the Gold Heritage Restoration Award in this year’s Vancouver Regional Construction Association Awards of Excellence.
