Industrial Intensification Policy — A City-by-City Read for Metro Vancouver
Metro Vancouver lost about 1,200 acres of industrial land to rezoning between 2010 and 2024. Municipalities are answering with density, and the answer differs sharply by city.
August 18, 2026 · 2 min read · By Samuel Brahem, in association with NAI Commercial
Vancouver pushes hardest
After its 2020 Employment Lands and Economy Review, the City introduced I-4 zoning in parts of the False Creek Flats and Mount Pleasant, permitting FARs up to 5.0 for industrial uses — stacked logistics, freight elevators, ramped access. It has also placed industrial covenants on certain parcels that block future rezoning to non-industrial uses.
The catch is cost. Multi-storey industrial runs 40–60% more per sq. ft. than tilt-up, and with net asking rents at about $20.10 per sq. ft. in Q2 2026, below the 2023 peak, the pro forma is project-specific at best.
Burnaby, Richmond, Surrey, Langley
- Burnaby: the Industrial Land Strategy allows more site coverage and relaxed setbacks; Big Bend projects maximize footprint while staying single-storey
- Richmond: industrial zones allow office up to 30% of gross floor area in some districts plus ancillary retail; rents about $20.26 per sq. ft. net in Q2 2026
- Surrey: the 2024 OCP update permits FARs up to 2.5 in designated employment areas, held back by servicing until the 32 Avenue works land
- Langley Township: traditional zoning for now, hard ALR edges; rents about $19.20 per sq. ft. net, Gloucester above average
Intensification is a patchwork, and the patchwork is where the value hides.
What it changes for you
Owners: a functional single-storey building on a permissive-FAR parcel may carry a redevelopment premium you are not pricing. Know your designation, permitted density and any covenants.
Investors: a 2-acre I-4 site in the Flats and a 2-acre I-2 site are different assets. Underwrite the optionality explicitly.
Tenants: multi-storey product brings freight elevator limits, floor loading caps and ramp configurations to check. Landlords holding underused sites may intensify at expiry, so start renewal talks earlier in these submarkets.
The bottom line
Audit every holding against the bylaw it actually sits under. The municipalities that pair density with working truck courts and grade loading will draw the capital and the tenants; the rest will draw proposals.
