Ottawa office sector set for shake-up

The office market in Ottawa, which ended 2014 with a near-record high vacancy rate, is set for a shake up.

The office market in Ottawa, which ended 2014 with a near-record high vacancy rate, is set for a shake up. That’s according to a new outlook from Colliers International which says that the acquisition of almost half of the office space in the Ottawa suburb of Kanata by KPR Properties is likely to be a game changer. Colliers’ managing director Kevin Holmes commented: “Having such a dominant player in this market could result in changes to rent rates and potentially shift tenants into and out from Kanata, which would affect other sub-markets as well.” Kanata may be looking healthy but other parts of the city are not faring so well; the Fringe Core and Downtown Core have both seen vacancy rates rising and rents falling.