Expensive real estate killing industry in West: BIV

I won’t weigh into the debate about the new Crappy Tire planned for Marine Drive, except to say that Big Box must start thinking Small Box and soon. Why can’t a store like Canadian Tire find a niche at one of Vancouver’s many neighbourhood centres? Their store at 7th & Cambie should be a model for future store development.

According to this article in BIV Interactive, Rising urban land costs driving industry east, the cost of real estate is one key reason for industry abandoning Vancouver. Growth on industrial land in Vancouver has stalled, and property owners are chomping at the bit to re-zone for profitable residential housing.

Thankfully someone has noticed that if you don’t have places for people to work, business will abandon your city. It’s business that brings in the taxes to pay for stuff. So Vancouver is retaining most of its industrial zoned land, even if companies are taking a pass on it for now.

At some point strategies must be put in place that will help to attract business to our urban industrial lands. Density is part of the solution, more ‘mixed use’ is too. The Canada Line will reshape South Vancouver in the long term, so will peak oil and climate change.

Whatever the reasons, I think you’ll see the changes happen fast, and within the next five years.