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City staff: Downtown storefront occupancy at 95%, restaurants dominate local mix
Summary
City staff reported a 95% downtown storefront occupancy rate for the study area, with about 28,000 square feet vacant across nine buildings and restaurants making up the largest industry share. Staff said the result is down 0.7 percentage points from last year but remains above planning standards.
City staff presented a downtown storefront occupancy study showing a 95% occupancy rate for the city’s central business area, a slight decline from the prior year but still above local planning standards.
Derek, a city staff member who led the study in partnership with the Business Alliance, said the area covered roughly 545,000 square feet of ground‑level commercial space and included 167 businesses. “That sums up our downtown occupancy rate, 95%,” Derek said, adding that the rate is “down 0.7% from last year.” He noted the planning standard considers anything above 85% to be good.
The report identified about 28,000 square feet of vacant space across nine downtown buildings. Derek cited the recent CIBC downtown branch closing as one of the larger vacancies but said the property has been listed for sale since October and has attracted interest. He said the report records properties that are confirmed to become vacant or occupied soon, and staff update that status as cases change.
A second component of the study examined business diversity. Derek said the downtown is restaurant‑heavy—54 businesses in the restaurant/bar category, including 37 sit‑down restaurants—and that restaurants generate larger sales‑tax contributions than many retailers. “From a tax perspective, our restaurants do bring in a lot of money,” he said, noting some restaurants drive substantially more sales tax than typical retail tenants.
Council members asked whether the occupancy level represented a trend. Derek said a few long‑vacant, larger buildings recently gained leases or are under construction and that the overall direction is favorable, while cautioning that a restaurant‑heavy mix could be vulnerable to economic downturns because food businesses operate on thinner margins.
The presentation included an interactive vacancy map and a note that follow‑up reports—the industrial occupancy report and a business‑visit report focused on restaurants—will be released in the coming weeks.
The committee did not take a separate vote on the study; the presentation provided data to guide future policy or strategic planning choices.
