Average weekly - 79%
Peak Day - Wednesday 89%
Low Day - Friday 54%
The Index is trending upward early in September, and we expect that to continue through the balance of the month and into October.
However, more significantly is the actual number of employees working in office buildings. Office tenants are growing and hiring more people. This combined with less remote work is driving the increase in the total number of employees commuting to the downtown core.
Vacancy rates in downtown office buildings are declining, especially in the “AAA” class buildings. Some are speculating that new office projects may be started in the near future.
Enjoy the ‘Articles of Interest’ below.
Your SRRA Team,
Links to Articles of Interest
Globe Editorial Shows Little Sympathy for Provincial Employees Told to Return to the Office
Although tempered with incisive commentary on the folly of “blanket” one size fits all RTO mandates, the challenge of too few desks for returning workers and the always popular “commutes are too long and arduous,” Canada’s national newspaper left little doubt where its sympathies lie went it comes to the push to get workers back in the office. With juicy quotes offered up by union leaders (“Why are we going back to the Stone Age?”), the hyperbole wars are ramping up, with advocates choosing sides for and against. The reality (suggested by Occupancy Index trends is closer to the middle ground. Stay tuned for more dramatic headlines this Fall!
Brave Consultant Puts a Dollar Figure on the Cost of Returning to the Office
It takes an experienced hand to dare to put a number against the complaints emanating from returning office workers. “Financial educator Eduek Brooks estimates the cost of returning to the office five days a week could range anywhere between $800 and $1,000 per month. Her calculation includes driving to work, paying for parking and eating out a few times a week as well as additional costs such as buying new clothing and beauty products.” All figures in Canadian dollars! And this doesn’t take account of childcare costs for those who had been able to juggle work and minding young children.
Crosstown Still No Closer to Opening Day?
With regular updates pushing likely start dates for Crosstown further and further back, and worries about the Finch LRT as well, downtown BIAs could well be starting to worry about the plight of their street front businesses affected by construction of the Ontario line. Scheduled to open in 2031 (originally 2027 then 2030 and now 2031), how long will it be before the timeline stretches out even further? The signs promising ‘business as usual during construction’ are still gracing storefronts on Eglinton that bit the dust years ago. Tracing the impact on businesses affected by the Ontario line could be next.
Financial Sector to New York: We’re Taking a Hike
New York still generates the best headlines. Who can forget “Ford to City: Drop Dead,” dating back to New York’s flirtation with bankruptcy during the era of Gerald Ford? Today’s stories are focused on New York no longer being the centre of the universe, with columnists dipping into the character pool focused on ‘masters of the universe’ financial whizz kids, generated by Tom Wolfe. It seems that New York is leaking head offices, specifically those in the financial sector who are departing for lower tax environments. Couple this trend with a growing disdain among the voting public (apparently) for billionaires, and the upcoming mayoralty election could prove interesting.
This Headline Written By a Human – We Promise
It seems that just as New York is reportedly losing companies focused on financial services, the midtown area is seeing a giant spike in companies filling entire floors with people to implement AI.
Washington Bears the Brunt of Government Shutdown
Although the loss of paychecks is widespread, the combination of a high concentration of federal workers and the still emerging effect of mass layoffs is having a COVID-like impact on Washington’s commercial sector, with foot traffic dropping off and predictable knock on impacts on restaurants and other small business owners.
“The Occupancy Index is supported by the City of Toronto, Downtown Yonge BIA, and Downtown West BIA. It is a measure of the percentage of office employees returning to the office compared to the number of employees who would normally have come to their offices pre-COVID. For a detailed description of the calculation please contact Iain Dobson at [email protected],”