KRP Properties got the thumbs-up from Ottawa’s planning committee Thursday for an eight-storey office building in Kanata North’s tight commercial real estate market.
The extra office space could help alleviate commercial vacancy rates in one of Ottawa’s busiest office markets. Colliers International reported the availability of class-A office space in Kanata sat at 8.5 per cent at the tail end of 2019.
KRP Properties president Martin Vandewouw told OBJ last year that the property manager wanted to be ready to put shovels in the ground when the proposed building was roughly 50 per cent pre-leased, given how quickly the company needs to respond to tech tenants looking to expand their footprints in the park.
“I don’t think that tech companies can afford the lead time that sometimes is required in order for a building to come on-stream,” he said. “So we’re just trying to shorten that time (frame).”
Down the road, Regional Group is also gearing up to build a seven-storey, 143,000-square-foot office building, but is waiting for the “right partner” to pre-lease space before moving ahead with formal proposals.