Here’s the way to beat B.C.’s rising rental rates

Commercial and warehousing vacancy rates are at record lows, while prices are at all-time highs. The better option is to build you own with affordable pre-engineered steel buildings.

If you think buying a house in Canada is difficult these days, try procuring a warehouse – especially on the West Coast.

It seems nearly impossible — and commercial and industrial businesses are feeling the pain. As of late 2022 and early 2023, industrial rental space within the city of Vancouver was listed at a near-zero percent vacancy rate.

A shift in consumer spending toward online shopping and a resulting need to warehouse even greater numbers of inventory SKUs have created increasing pressure to accommodate the insurmountable need for storage. But with rental costs continuing to soar in an uncertain economy, more and more businesses are deciding that moving further away from the city core and building out their own storage capacity is a better business strategy.

Businesses searching for existing rental space are being forced into an unwinnable waiting game. In 2022, 90 per cent of the 9.1 million square feet of new rental space was delivered preleased (according to CBRE). And if companies are fortunate enough to find an available location, they come with an increasingly unaffordable price tag. Warehouse rents have climbed 29.4 per cent year-over-year at the same time, making renting even more unaffordable for new startups and smaller businesses. The Greater Vancouver Area (GVA) has the highest average asking rental rates in the country and is the only Canadian market with an average asking rent above $20 per square foot.

Better to build than to rent

So, what can be done to aid this crisis? How can Vancouver and the rest of B.C. continue to attract multinational corporations and develop new local businesses? By encouraging business leaders and entrepreneurs to think outside the box and build one of their own in available space outside the city proper.

Under normal circumstances, especially for newer enterprises, renting is the most reasonable way to get a business started without a huge capital investment. But these are not normal circumstances. Building becomes a much easier decision to make once people understand the economics and have a clear view of their return on investment. And with this knowledge, it becomes even more evident to steer away from traditional brick-and-mortar storage facilities and build with pre-engineered steel buildings.

Steel buildings offer greater design flexibility than traditional brick-and-mortar structures. They can be easily customized to meet specific requirements and can also be easily modified or expanded if needed, providing numerous other benefits:

• Cost-effectiveness – Steel buildings are often more cost-effective than traditional brick-and-mortar structures because they are easier and quicker to construct. Steel is also a more affordable material than brick or stone.

• Durability – Steel buildings are incredibly durable and can withstand harsh weather conditions. Steel structures are also resistant to fire, pests and rot, making them a long-lasting investment.

• Sustainability – Steel is a recyclable material, so steel buildings are often more sustainable than traditional brick-and-mortar structures. Additionally, steel buildings require less energy to heat and cool, making them more energy efficient.

• Maintenance – Steel buildings require less maintenance than traditional brick-and-mortar structures. They are less prone to cracking, chipping and fading, and do not require repainting or sealing like traditional brick buildings.

• Size and span – Steel buildings can also be designed to have larger open spaces without the need for supporting columns or walls. This is because steel is stronger than brick and can support more weight over a greater distance.

Summit Steel Buildings holds the key to solving these warehousing problems with their intelligent custom-built solutions. The Vancouver-based company has become an industry leader by delivering premier pre-engineered metal buildings designed to meet storage needs regardless of sector or business purpose — everything from manufacturing, agricultural, mining, forestry and even multi-story combined-use retail and office spaces. Summit Steel Buildings is backed by a team that boasts over 40 years' worth of collective experience and has fashioned a strong reputation for completing projects on time and at an affordable budget.

If you build it, business revenue will come

A far too often piece of misquoted movie dialogue states that if you build it, they will come. Only in this instance, the “it” is not referring to a mythical baseball diamond located in some cornfield in the middle of Iowa. Rather, it’s a pre-engineered metal storage facility built by the trusted engineering and skilled trades team at Summit Steel Buildings and what will arrive is greater prosperity and operational savings that are only possible through equity ownership. Building construction is a much more affordable option than people think and a much more creative way to solve storage challenges. After all, the economy is driven by innovation, exciting startups and the unrealized entrepreneurial potential that’s so necessary to keeping British Columbia prosperous for generations to come.

When you are looking to get started on your ideal warehousing or storage facility, contact Summit Steel Buildings at 877-417-8335 and we’ll provide you with a quote and preliminary drawings free of charge.