Calgary is a unique market. I've actually worked on a few big office deals and have a few going on right now. The main driver of the compact nature of this city simply comes from the fact that it is a boom town. Its economy is chugging along faster than the metro can sprawl outwards right now. This doesn't really leave a lot of choice in the matter of where one can choose to locate their office.
Also, I think Calgary is, to a certain extent, just from a different age. Calgary wasn't big enough to suffer from the rape and pillage of its downtown when that was in style in the 60's and 70's and, as a young boom town, is a product of a new age where we've learned that surrounding your downtown in parking lots is a very bad idea. Instead Calgary has surrounded its downtown in a series of wonderful parks along the river and compact residential neighborhoods.
Quote:
Originally Posted by VivaLFuego
First, what types of companies are driving the growth in demand for space? Are they companies that benefit from agglomeration and proximity to services and government offices?
|
Calgary is powered by energy and raw materials companies and whole slough of sister industries that tend to accompany them. Engineering is absolutely huge out there right now as Calgary is basically the new frontier in North America as the Canadian north is increasingly exploited for tar sands and other natural resources. Every major engineering company is fighting for space there right now and vacancy rates are sub 10% downtown and at like 12% in the "suburbs".
It's ironic that you ask if they are companies that thrive on agglomeration because the engineering industry is notoriously fickle about what neighbors they are willing to share a building with. Because their work is so IP sensitive they want to be as far away from their competitors as possible while still being in the same metro so they can have access to the same labor pool. This is part of why Quarry Park and other Suburban office parks are booming right now; all the engineering firms are attempting to spread out and get away from each other.
Quote:
Second, having never been there I can only go by Google Maps, but I don't get the sense that Calgary's outskirts are particularly highly accessible. Most high capacity transport is oriented N-S converging on downtown, with the only crosstown artery far to the north. It could be as simple as Calgary's downtown being far and away the most accessible and viable place for office employment in the region irrespective of all other considerations.
|
I am currently trying to sublet out about 20,000 SF of raw space in Quarry Park which counts as a "suburban market" in Calgary. Suburban in Calgary means "5 miles from downtown". I think this has a lot to do with the fact that Calgary has a very underdeveloped freeway system compared to most sprawling metropolises and therefore just goes from city on one side of the street to farmland on another. The entire developed area is pretty much 6 miles wide by 12 miles long which is absolutely minuscule compared to most areas.