By Dan Marshall

High cost of business rentals in Vancouver could help Nanaimo

Jul 25, 2016 | 12:48 PM

Vancouver is the third priciest business rental market in North America.

Only New York, and San Francisco are more expensive.

Those findings from a recent study might attract more companies to Nanaimo.

Nanaimo Economic Development Corporation CEO John Hankins says Vancouver’s rental rate is $20 per square foot more expensive than Nanaimo, and the cost of living here is much cheaper.

“Nanaimo offers that opportunity to either start your business and still be able to get across to Vancouver fairly easily and take advantage there.  Or if it’s important to have your name on the street in Vancouver, have a front end office in Vancouver but the rest of the office located in a lower cost region like Nanaimo,” said Hankins.

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For travel Hankins says ferry service, seaplanes, and other commercial flights keep Nanaimo businesses tied in to Vancouver.

The lower cost of parking, and shorter commute times are also advantages for business owners to consider.

The tech sector is one area where Nanaimo is seen as quite attractive.

“Victoria and Vancouver are pretty expensive for start ups and entrepreneurs.  In Nanaimo we have good fibre connectivity and low cost of living.  Therefor I think we position ourselves very nicely to still have accessibility to Victoria and Vancouver but still have that lower cost.”

Figures from March showed the rental rate per square foot in Vancouver was $54 and the rate in Nanaimo was $34.

A typical new home in Nanaimo comes in well under $600 thousand dollars, while in Vancouver the price tag is about $1.7 million.