Flex Industrial in Greater Vancouver — Who Fits It and What It Costs
Flex buildings consolidate production, storage and front office in one address. The value is operational; the risk sits in tenant improvements and obsolescence.
June 2, 2026 · 2 min read · By Samuel Brahem, in association with NAI Commercial
The building
Office or showroom finish runs 20% to 50% of gross leasable area. Most inventory sits in older industrial parks or business parks built from the 1980s through the early 2000s: 16- to 22-foot clear, grade or dock loading with fewer doors than a logistics box, finished office with HVAC and washrooms, higher parking ratios than warehouse, and bays of 3,000 to 15,000 sq. ft.
Who takes it
- Technology and electronics firms pairing assembly, test and R&D with engineering offices — Richmond and Burnaby
- Mechanical, electrical and specialty contractors needing shop, storage and estimating space — Surrey, Port Coquitlam, Langley
- Medical and lab users blending cleanroom with admin, usually with upgraded power, ventilation and plumbing
- Flooring, cabinetry and building-product wholesalers with customer-facing showrooms attached to inventory
- Equipment dealers, vehicle upfitters and technical service shops
Where it is and what it rents for
Burnaby's Big Bend, Byrne Road and Norland Avenue remain the primary flex nodes, tracking the $19.67 per sq. ft. net average with vacancy near 4.9%. Richmond's Bridgeport, Crestwood and East Richmond average $20.26, with Canada Line proximity adding a premium. Surrey ($18.66) and Langley ($19.20) offer value in Newton, Port Kells and Gloucester. Vancouver's thin stock in Mount Pleasant and False Creek Flats averages $20.10 at 5.4% vacancy. Operating costs run about $6 to $7 per sq. ft. across the region on triple-net leases.
In a flex lease, the TI negotiation is the deal.
What tenants and investors should underwrite
Tenants: verify electrical service, HVAC zoning, fire-suppression rating and loading before signing, because upgrades land on the occupancy cost. Landlords should expect longer downtime and higher turnover costs between tenancies than vanilla industrial.
Investors: a single-tenant flex building with short remaining term carries more re-leasing risk than comparable warehouse; 1980s and 1990s clear heights and mechanicals can be functionally obsolete; permissive zoning can mean redevelopment upside or land pricing that outruns industrial economics; and multi-tenant flex demands active management.
