REIMAGINING DOWNTOWN EDMONTON

“Of course, the many positives are exciting and are important,” says the dynamic Puneeta McBryan, EDBA’s executive director. “All of the challenges essentially boil down to having too little density and insufficient foot traffic to sustain the mix and concentration of businesses that Edmontonians want and expect. It is due to low residential density for a major city’s downtown of only 12,000 or so residents and the loss of tens of thousands of commuting office workers who used to patronize businesses on a regular basis.”

The foot traffic so vital for Edmonton’s downtown success relies on the essential ingredients of people who work, shop, live or visit downtown. As a place to work, downtown Edmonton is still reeling from several recent whammies. The two-plus pandemic years of work disruptions combined with already emerging technology and economy speedbumps are still taking their toll.

The bottom line is that Edmonton businesses don’t need as much space as they used to. As hybrid and remote work is still a key factor, it significantly impacts downtown vacancy rates. According to a report from CBRE, at the end of last year, the total downtown office vacancy rate was 23 per cent.

“It is higher than it should be,” admits Mark Anderson, vice president at CBRE Edmonton, and also vice chair of EDBA, “but there are bright spots. Some Class AA towers are outperforming the market and experienced positive absorption YTD. There is also positivity with recent investments in Edmonton downtown. These include major office building renovations, such as the 2022 Bell Tower renovation where Aspen Properties is investing $10M, as well as renovations underway at Rice Howard Place (formerly Scotia Place).”