Downtown Victoria’s newest office tower will reach occupancy by mid-2026, and likely mark the only such project to complete in the city centre throughout the 2020s.

 

 

Telus Ocean, topped out at its 10-storey height above the intersection of Douglas and Humboldt streets, is comprised of approximately 154,000 square feet of Class-A office space, a further 5,300 square feet of retail space, amenity and community areas on the ground floor, on the 10th floor and on the rooftop, and a public plaza at street level.

 

Telecommunications giant Telus will occupy several floors within the tower as part of a south Island work place consolidation. Additional leaseholders have not been confirmed by leasing brokerage Colliers Canada.

 

A rendering of Telus Ocean, on-track for completion by mid-2026 on Douglas Street at Humboldt Street in downtown Victoria.  Telus

 

The complex follows the completion of Jawl Properties’ 13-storey 750 Pandora office tower, which reached occupancy in 2018 and capped a spurt of office development in downtown Victoria that included 2010’s seven-storey Atrium at 800 Yates Street, 2014’s completion of the four-storey Argus along the 600-block of Fort Street, and 750 Pandora’s six-storey sibling 1515 Douglas (also completed in 2018). Collectively, the four buildings added nearly 500,000 square feet of modern office and commercial leasable space to the city centre.

 

 

Victoria’s office market has faced a conundrum since the COVID-19 pandemic, as a work-from-home trend shifted the traditional model of office-based employment and reduced demand among leaseholders for downtown square footage. As such, one notable project approved by the City of Victoria in 2023 has since shifted away from a 41,000 square foot office component as part of three residential towers on Douglas Street at Caledonia Avenue, and a 10-storey, 170,000 square foot office tower approved for Blanshard Street at Yates Street is likely to remain a concept until absorption rates climb. The latter project is unlikely to reach occupancy until the 2030s, even if construction were to start next year.

 

Meanwhile, office space vacancies in downtown Victoria have continued to climb since the pandemic. It is estimated the vacancy rate is presently at around 15% when accounting for both vacated spaces and spaces available for sub-lease by tenants no longer occupying an otherwise formally leased premises. C

 

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