Williams said there are generally more opportunities for these types of projects in western Canada, specifically in Calgary, where the city has offered incentives to developers for office conversion projects in response to high office vacancy rates.Ĭalgary was the location for Hazelview’s other office conversion project. For example, city rules in Toronto dictate that office space removed from the city’s downtown must be replaced, creating barriers for office-to-residential conversions. Regulatory hurdles can also pose challenges.

These challenges have arisen amid growing interest in the idea with office vacancies on the rise after the COVID-19 pandemic prompted more hybrid and remote working arrangements. Labour shortages, construction delays and can present roadblocks for conversions in Canada, Williams said. “We're able to move a little bit faster than probably traditional build,” he said.Ī room in the Medical Arts Building in Winnipeg before it was converted into apartments. But after that, the project proceeded quickly and was completed in under two years – quicker than building a new residential tower from scratch, Williams added. It took a few years for the conversion to begin because of the duration of some office lease contracts, Williams said. “We were left with a vacant office building that worked in our eyes for conversion to residential,” Williams told BNNBloomberg.ca in a telephone interview last month. Mike Williams, a managing partner and head of real estate development at Hazelview Investments, said the project was the result of office market conditions that had “deteriorated,” with high vacancy levels in Winnipeg.įormer office tenants in the building were able to sublease elsewhere, he explained, allowing the project to go ahead. One of them, the Medical Arts Building in Winnipeg, added about 104 new rental units to the city’s downtown real estate market, opening its doors to residents in 2021. (HAZELVIEW INVESTMENTS)ĭevelopment company Hazelview Investments has converted two office buildings into residential apartments. Hallways in the Medical Arts Building in Winnipeg before it was converted into apartments. Here is a look at one building in Winnipeg that was successfully converted from an office into a residential space, with perspective from tenants on what it is like to live there, and from the developer on how they made it work. While there are challenges to such conversion projects, some developers have pulled it off, with projects underway or completed in major Canadian cities. As Canada grapples with a housing shortage, there has been growing interest in the idea of converting underused offices into apartment units.

The office building inside