GVBOT Member Todd Yuen Discusses the Climate of Building Industrial in B.C. with Stuart McNish

Todd Yuen, Greater Vancouver Board of Trade member and President of Industrial at Beedie, talks unmanageable permitting processes on an episode of Conversations That Matter with host Stuart McNish.

A robust industrial property sector is vital to the economy. According to a Metro Vancouver study, “Industrial lands serve various purposes, such as warehousing, manufacturing, and supporting emerging technology businesses. They provide essential employment opportunities and contribute to supply chains.” In other words, they are vital to economic growth.

Here’s the challenge, Yuen said.

“There’s a critical shortage of industrial lands in Metro Vancouver and we’re losing businesses and their employees to Alberta and other jurisdictions.”

A study commissioned by GVBOT and the NAIOP Vancouver Chapter found that between 2018-2023, an estimated 5.1 million sq ft of space has been taken up by firms in Calgary rather than Metro Vancouver. This includes firms that have left the region and others that preferred to invest in Vancouver but instead chose Calgary. The economic impact is estimated to be the loss of 6,300 direct jobs, $477 million in wages, and nearly $500 million in GDP.

The reasons for the shortages are complex, according to the InterVISTAS report, which include “constrained land supply, complex jurisdictional overlaps, and a need to review the development process.”

Industrial lands make up just four per cent of the total land mass in Metro Vancouver but result in over 450,000 direct and indirect jobs, $50.1 billion in GDP, and an overall output of $92.5 billion.

For every one per cent increase in industrial land available for jobs and production, the study estimates that an additional 126,100 jobs are created and $12.2 billion in GDP is generated for B.C.

“To give you an example of the unmanageable permitting process, we just put a new site on the market after seven years of approvals. The wheels within the permitting process turn so slow they create an air of anti-progress,” Yuen said.

He dives into the need to build industrial facilities, the impediments to doing so, and the consequences of inaction in the episode. Watch or listen now to learn more.