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Mixing offices and condos in downtown business districts

January 26th, 2010 · 7 Comments

Vancouver has been tussling with the issue of condos in its downtown business district for a while.

There’s still a debate going on between the planning department, which is trying to preserve a strong core of office-only space and a substantial inventory of office space throughout the downtown peninsula, and developers, who have developed a lot of expertise in building condos and say that Vancouver’s office market just won’t support a lot of office-only buidlings. So they’re pushing for the right to have more office/tower combos.

Vancouver is not the only city with that issue, though it creates more angst here among those who fear we’re turning into a resort city with no real business base. Others are dealing with it, including, yes, Toronto. I have a story in the Globe’s Property Report section today that looks at the specific question of buildings that mix condos and offices in downtown districts.

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