Commercial Real Estate Vacancies Hit Historic High in Calgary

According to a new report, the number of vacant downtown offices in Calgary increased during the first three months of the year. Vacancies jumped 2.2 per cent from the last quarter.

The new report was released by Barclay Street Real Estate Ltd. It indicated that vacancies increased to 19.5 per cent with approximately 938,000 more square feet were on the market.

The increase in number of vacancies come as energy companies continue to announce layoffs and reinforce operations due to the low prices of oil.

The report also stated that several companies are trying to sublease space. MEG Energy, a Canadian oil sands producer based in Northern Alberta, is attempting to sublease over 300,000 square feet of space. Shell Canada is offering over 183,000 square feet and Penn West Energy is trying to sublease over 73,000 square feet of space.

According to the report, vacancies reached historic highs, with 8 million of the downtown region's 41 million square feet of office space available and subleases making up close to half of what's available.

Reference: CBC News

http://www.cbc.ca/…/calgary-commercial-real-estate-vacancie…