Construction at the former Canada Post Building on West Georgia street in Vancouver, BC, December 9, 2019. When compared to other tech cities like Seattle, San Francisco, New York and Boston, Vancouver’s labour costs remain much lower and therefore attractive to big firms. Salaries typically account for about 70 per cent. He said real estate only accounts for three to six per cent of a company’s overall operation costs. “Once that snowball is rolling, it just keeps going.”Ĭolin Scarlett, an office specialist with Colliers International in Vancouver, said Vancouver’s relatively low labour costs are one of the main attractants for enormous tech companies like Amazon. “With a tech giant like Amazon taking that amount of space, I think most people will now agree, yes, we have that critical mass,” he said. He said Amazon’s deal would put the giant’s stamp of approval on the local tech ecosystem. “It is virtually impossible for me to overstate how significant this is to the Vancouver office market,” said Ross Moore, a tenant leasing specialist with Cresa brokerage house in Vancouver. QuadReal did not respond to three requests for comment by deadline.
When reached via email, an Amazon spokesperson declined to comment on the deal, but did confirm that Amazon has leased both towers. An estimated 7,000 people can work at the building. The Post will be comprised of two office towers and a mixed-use podium and is expected to complete in mid-2023. “They’re going to be our largest corporate tenant.” Open excavation of the former Canada Post Building with Library Square in background on West Georgia street in Vancouver, BC, December 9, 2019. Once Amazon takes over The Post, it will have a total local office footprint of 1.5 million square feet across several locations, he said. “We expect to see a decline of about two per cent in (forecasted) vacancy just due to the announcement of Amazon is taking up the 1.13 million square feet of office space within The Post building,” Jamani said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Vancouver Sun Run: Sign up & event info.