Toronto’s offices are emptying out. The city wants to know what to do with them

The City of Toronto is turning to residents for guidance on what to do with its empty office space as vacancies continue to rise.

The percentage of vacant office space in the city rose throughout every quarter last year, closing out 2023 at 17.5 per cent – a three per cent increase from the same period in 2022, and a 13.6 per cent spike from the fourth quarter of 2019.

The city’s call for input is part of a study it’s doing on office conversion amid an ongoing housing crisis that has “elevated pressure” for residential intensification, it said in a notice on its website.

“In part, this increased pressure has led to development applications that propose to add residential uses above existing office buildings, convert office to residential uses, or demolish office buildings entirely,” the city said.

“The loss of office space is typically a permanent outcome that cannot be reversed later if market conditions change.”

In a preliminary report prepared for the city by outside experts, Toronto’s office market has “undoubtedly softened” in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, signs of resilience are emerging, it said.

“Higher-quality, well located office spaces continue to fare well and remain favourable in periods of reduced demand such as this. This highlights the resilience of Toronto’s Financial Core and broader Downtown,” it said.

“Significant differentiation in the market for office uses has been observed across all key reporting metrics, including as a function of location, class of space, age of buildings, and industry positioning / tenanting, among other factors.”

The report added that distinction emphasizes the need to maintain and enhance the supply of prime office space in Toronto, and potentially re-evaluate future