Rising rental rates and a lack of supply of industrial properties in Coquitlam is pushing businesses looking to expand or relocate to Pitt Meadows, according to Avison Young, a leading commercial real estate services firm.
Ben Lutes, who specializes in selling and leasing industrial property for the company, said the limited supply of industrial properties in Coquitlam is making them attractive for investors, pushing up prices.
“While many businesses have been able to pay the increased rates, those businesses that are seeking to relocate, consolidate or expand in Coquitlam have little or no options and increasingly have to consider relocating to areas such as Pitt Meadows,” Lutes said.
According to a report prepared by Avison Young, the vacancy rate for industrial properties in Coquitlam is 1.6%. That compares to 2.1% in North Burnaby and 4.3% in Port Coquitlam.
“Industrial tenants in Coquitlam have few, if any, options available to them,” said the report, adding that’s unlikely to change in the foreseeable future.
“There is limited new strata or lease product under construction and only a very limited availability of built-to-suit options.”
That’s worrisome, said the CEO of the Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce, Michael Hind.
“You need to preserve industrial land because you want to be able to produce goods here rather than relying on bringing them in from other places,” Hind said. “We’ve exhausted all industrial land in Coquitlam.”
Hind said other than a 120-acre parcel of land being developed by the Kwikwetlem First Nation there’s not much industrial land to be had anywhere in the Tri-Cities.
“The neighbourhood is changing,” said Hind, citing the arrival of SkyTrain in Port Moody causing that city to look at densifying old industrial lands around the SkyTrain stations for more residential and commercial development, while most industrial property in Port Coquitlam has been built out.
David Munro, Coquitlam’s economic development officer, said there’s a lack of industrial land across Metro Vancouver. And while that’s sending companies east to communities like Pitt Meadows and beyond, it’s also creating opportunities to find new homes for businesses fleeing even higher rental rates or property prices closer to Vancouver.
“Yes, we are losing businesses, but there’s other businesses that are coming in and taking up those spaces,” Munro said.
That’s borne out by Avison Young’s report. Plumbing and HVAC supplier, Wolseley Canada Inc., moved into a new 11,500 sq. ft. location on Golden Drive, Olivier’s Breads is moving its main bakery from Port Coquitlam to Fraser Mills and Burnaby-based The Crossing Studios has moved into a space formerly occupied by the marine propulsion division of Rolls-Royce Canada.
Munro said the city has to be innovative in its policy decisions to create flexibility in its industrial categories. One such example is allowing the construction of office space on top of the various furniture warehouse stores along United Boulevard.
Munro said the nature of job growth in Coquitlam is changing from industrial to more office and retail.
“You’ve got to have a balance on your types of jobs.”
Hind said it’s important for job opportunities to exist for everyone in the community.
“For us, it’s finding that balance to find industrial land to serve those purposes, or to find good high-paying jobs in the high-tech sector,” Hind said.
