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VANCOUVER GOAL EMERGE AS STRONG AS EVER
Chuck We Senior Vice President, Western Canada Hudson Pacific Properties
Bentall Centre in Vancouver has 175 office and retail tenants. The building has remained open every business day during the COVID-19 pandemic, so that tenants offering essential services can continue to operate. As the concern over the spread of COVID-19 increased, many Bentall Centre office workers stayed home and retailers elected to shut down. “People did the right thing to help flatten the curve,” says Chuck We, Senior Vice President, Western Canada, Hudson Pacific Properties. The company has been working closely with its retail tenants “to make sure they can emerge from this as strong as ever.” As for office tenants, We says approximately 95% across Hudson Pacific’s portfolio have continued to pay rent in April, and they are maintaining their work space while working from home, whether full time or part time. With so many businesses affected by the pandemic, one might think lenders would be nervous, though that hasn’t been the case for Hudson Pacific Properties. “We have constant dialogue with our lenders, and they’ve been nothing but positive,” We says. “They understand that all of their clients are going through this right now. The real strength for us is we have a trophy asset in downtown Vancouver, and it’s got a world class rent roll, with great quality tenants that are well positioned to survive and even thrive in the current environment. When you have that kind of a tenant base it’s easy to have an open and clear dialogue with your lenders.” www.realestateforums.com
On the leasing side, the current environment might prompt extra clauses in future leasing agreements, though We cautions that would come at a price. “I think the reality is that tenants and landlords will have to balance out the desire to embrace new clauses with the cost of doing so. As an example, tenants may want added protection from an insurance standpoint. That comes with more premium and will just impact deal economics.” Bentall Centre has shifted its attention to return-to-work scenarios. When Hudson Pacific Properties welcomes people back into the building it will engage “a number of the strategies recommended by health authorities,” such as physical distancing. This might involve spacing people out on the common areas and in the elevators, and considering staggered work schedules, with workers starting their days at different times. Until 100% of the workforce can return, tenants are also embracing plans to bring employees back 20 or 30% at a time. While We applauds business continuity measures that have worked well for many tenants, he says collaborative work is essential to many businesses. “Many tenants are looking at ways to adjust their space and culture to allow employees to physically space themselves out so they can work a little more collaboratively, but in a more spread out fashion.” ■ Michelle Morra
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