The land base problem
Industrial lands represent roughly 4% of Metro Vancouver's land base but support 27% of total jobs in the region. With a finite supply and protected designation, the region's policy direction is to intensify — increase floor area, lot coverage, and operational density — rather than expand the footprint.
Where intensification is already showing up
- Multi-storey warehouse proposals in port-adjacent submarkets — economically viable for the first time at current rent levels.
- Higher lot-coverage redevelopments in Burnaby and South Vancouver, where older single-storey stock is being replaced with denser product.
- Strata stacking — small bay vertical product designed for owner-users who would not otherwise find sub-5,000 sq. ft. options.
What this means for owners
If you own underutilized industrial land in Burnaby, Richmond, Surrey, or Vancouver, the development math has moved. The redevelopment math may now justify a hold-and-densify decision that did not pencil five years ago.
If you lease in an older single-storey building inside Vancouver-proper, redevelopment risk is a real input into your renewal-vs-relocation decision.
"Industrial land in Metro Vancouver is no longer being asked to fit demand. It is being asked to host more of it on the same footprint."
This note is an editorial read of the source above. Quoted figures and conclusions belong to the original publisher; the framing and submarket interpretation are ours.