A Western Canadian firm has acquired a west-end Ottawa office building as the capital’s commercial real estate market continues to see a string of deals even as rising interest rates threaten to stall its momentum.
Koble Commercial Real Estate and Brokerage announced last week it brokered the sale of a two-storey office building at 2625 Queensview Dr. to the Vancouver-based Lanyard Group of Companies. The building, which is located on 2.7 acres of land near the future Queensview LRT station, sold for $9.35 million with a cap rate of 6.34 per cent.
The 46,500-square-foot building, located a block north of the Queensway and just east of Pinecrest Road, now has a vacancy rate of about 30 per cent after the City of Ottawa recently left the space. Remaining tenants include SCM Insurance Services, the Queensway-Carleton Hospital and PIP Animation Services.
OBJ360 (Sponsored)
How Emond Harnden helps employers navigate the complexities of employment policies
Emond Harnden Legal Counsel Alanna Twohey says there’s one main thing she always tells employers when they’re crafting their employment policies. “They’re not worth the paper they’re printed on if
How Event Design can be a force multiplier for your next business event
Event Design Group Inc. Director of Corporate Events Angela Spicer says she has a unique technique for tracking customer satisfaction at the hundreds of events her company stages each year.
Graeme Webster, a partner at Koble, said the property’s close proximity to light rail and the Queensway as well as its ample parking lot with 171 spots were among the attributes that attracted Lanyard’s interest.
He said a number of potential tenants have already toured the building’s available space, adding Lanyard views the vacancy as a “short-term issue that they can solve.”
“Retaining employees, you’ve got to have a great place to work,” he said. “The buyer … really saw this asset as checking all those boxes for the future of the workplace.”
News of the sale follows a second quarter that saw Ottawa’s office vacancy rate tick up to 9.7 per cent while net asking rents fell slightly.
OBJ360 (Sponsored)
Building The City We Aspire To Be
Ottawa is facing many challenges: we need more housing that achieves better sustainable density to create homes for families and support small businesses for a diverse economy. We need to
The Canadian Corps of Commissionaires (Commissionaires) is proudly marking 100 years of dedicated service. Established on July 25, 1925, Commissionaires has played a vital role in providing meaningful employment to
“There’s been a slowdown,” Webster conceded. “There are some cautious buyers out there. They can’t get the returns they could get six or seven months ago, so they’re waiting on the sidelines.”
But the veteran broker said Koble is still enjoying its best year since it was founded in 2014, adding the Ottawa market remains a sought-after play for savvy investors. The firm also recently announced it brokered the sale of a three-storey, 12,000-square-foot office building at 376 Churchill Ave. N. in Westboro.
“The reality is, well-located office (space) with strong amenities should be in demand for (a long) time to come,” Webster said.
