Broadway tech hub? How the upcoming SkyTrain is shaping Vancouver’s innovation corridor

The Broadway Plan — a 860-hectare area of the city that is being referred to as the "second downtown" — was passed three years ago. As the six SkyTrain stations pull closer to completion, there’s significant excitement in the real estate and tech communities as businesses prepare for the projected 30,000 new jobs and 50,000 additional residents expected to fill the area.

The Colliers Q4 2024 Vancouver Office Market Report, which carries the organization’s most recent statistics on the region, suggests that the Broadway Corridor is positioned to become a critical tech and innovation hub. Despite current market uncertainties, the document implies that demand for quality office space in the area remains strong, with companies eyeing the region for its improved connectivity and growing infrastructure. As vacancy rates fluctuate in other submarkets, the Broadway Corridor’s appeal is expected to increase, potentially leading to greater competition for premium office space — and possibly the new home of a number of tech businesses.

Enhanced connectivity boosts demand

The Broadway Corridor is set to benefit from significant transit improvements — most notably from the upcoming Broadway SkyTrain. This enhanced connectivity is expected to make the location increasingly attractive to businesses that prioritize accessibility as the six new stations open, fuelling demand for quality office space in the area. 

That boost will come on top of the area’s current appeal. Premium buildings tend to maintain more stable occupancy levels, implying that the Broadway Corridor — because it is flush with AAA space — will continue to attract tenants, even as overall market uncertainties persist. Rental prices for AAA spaces in the Broadway Corridor are already the second-highest in Metro Vancouver, the report says, suggesting a current demand from anchor companies in the city. 

Broadway Corridor neighbourhoods are not created equal

While AAA properties are currently the most popular among companies looking to lease space, the report shows that the lion’s share of AAA buildings are in the Mount Pleasant area, followed by Fairview and Kitsilano, and then the False Creek Flats. Mount Pleasant has more than twice as many AAA options as Fairview and Kits, and four times as much as False Creek, suggesting that the neighbourhood might initially prove most popular to tech companies.

As more tech businesses encourage workers to come back to the office, however, there could be an increased demand in the Broadway Corridor for lower-quality offices. Given that the majority of Vancouver’s tech companies are under 50 employees, the tech industry might be looking more closely at A or B spaces in the future, in order to better maximize their finances. Fairview and Kitsilano boasts the vast majority of that class, followed by Mount Pleasant — meaning Kits could become the unexpected centre of a new startup hub as the Broadway Plan continues to roll out.

Office construction is underway for the Broadway Corridor

New office space construction is well underway along the Broadway Plan area, with the Corridor representing the third-biggest location for construction last quarter. Burnaby topped the list of markets at 21 percent, with the Vancouver periphery representing a close second. Downtown, by contrast — which traditionally houses a big proportion of Vancouver’s tech and business community — ranked eighth, suggesting that developers are looking further afield to build the next generation of Vancouver’s tech office spaces.

Three developments from the Broadway Corridor made it onto Colliers’ list of notable builds in the area for the quarter, with False Creek Flats’ The Hive (2150 Keith Drive) and Lab 29 (1629 Scotia Street) highlighted by the company. Mount Pleasant’s T3 (123 East 6th Avenue) also made the list.

It’s a good time to be a tenant

With an average vacancy rate of 11.6 percent in the Downtown market this year, the report points out that it has been a tenant favorable-market for the entire year: a situation not seen in over 20 years. That might imply that tenants are looking elsewhere — including the upcoming Broadway Corridor — for office rentals.

That said, the Broadway Corridor has also tipped into becoming a tenant-favorable market, which means landlords are currently facing challenges with filing their space. This has particularly become an issue to those that are unimproved, located in lower-quality buildings, not available for flexible arrangements, or show willingness to negotiate deal terms. Those stats imply that while the Corridor might be the spot for tech companies to put down their roots in the future, the promise of the Broadway Plan has yet to come to fruition.

Despite those challenges, the report suggests that the Broadway Corridor stands out as a promising submarket. Enhanced transit connectivity is set to drive demand, while dynamic vacancy trends reflect the evolving needs of tenants in a hybrid work environment. High-quality office spaces continue to attract businesses, and competitive leasing practices are reshaping tenant selection. Together, these factors position the Broadway Corridor for strong future growth, making it a key area to watch in Vancouver’s tech office market landscape.

Loving your members-only articles? Tell a friend to become a member too.