Of the dozen construction sites I pass by on my walk to work, only one isn’t for a residential tower and that’s the new convention centre in Coal Harbour. It seems like everywhere you turn, there’s a new condo development popping up.

They tore down that old store around the corner, what’s going in there now? Condos. They finally decided to do something with that old grassed-over lot? Yeah it’s gonna be condos now. They demolished those houses? Yep, to make room for more condos.

Downtown Vancouver has had years of dwindling office space due to condo conversions, the departure of head offices and a drought of new office-building construction. Vacancies are low and rents are high. [News1130]

Sure there are small victories that pop into the news now and then, but I really don’t see much for an expansion in office space especially considering Vancouver is heavily responsible for the current ‘reverse brain-drain‘ [MontrealTechWatch]. Warehouses in Gastown that were once turning into start-up hipster offices are now being transformed into open-concept lofts for living.

Where is everyone going to work? Industrial parks in the burbs spring to mind.

If you’ve driven on Marine lately you’ll see a huge difference [Riverfront][BurnabyBusinessPark][GlenlyonParkway]. Along with the giant boxed stores come marketable subdivisions for anyone from water to tech companies. But does expanding out East and South from our downtown core help or hinder growing business in Vancouver itself?

Photo credit: Bucky C. Arnold on Flickr

This could very well be great news for Surrey who used to have Canada’s largest vacant office space, Central City. It currently has an empty building containing 90% of the city’s office space, which is completely empty and has been for almost a decade. There’s so much space out there in fact, that they’re dancing around the vacant rooms (literally) until business moves in.

…a decade after the project was announced, the 275,000-square-foot structure remains vacant. Meanwhile, the city continues to celebrate the building, now known as the 104 Avenue Centre, as a testament to Surrey’s commercial promise… Next month, the mayor will hold her charity ball in the building for the second year in a row. [SurreyLeader]

Even the once-vacant Central City is hot stuff.

…sold for $245.75 million in what is believed to be British Columbia’s biggest real estate deal in history for a single property. [Canada.com]

I think the message from the suburbs is, ‘we’re open for business’.

If you look at other major cities sometimes the big hubs of business activity take place outside of downtown. When I lived in Boston I never once actually lived or worked in Boston proper. I was living in Cambridge and working in Watertown at the Arsenal on the Charles.

Should ‘downtown’ then just be reserved for big banks, hotels and condos? For those who live and work in Yaletown, Davie Village, Coal Harbour, Gastown, the West End etc., should we be worried that reverse-commute will soon be in order? Would that be a horrible thing?

I’m worried enough that my office will soon be moving from Gastown to Yaletown. Sure it’s 19 blocks from home compared to the 18 blocks distance I currently walk but we’ll be distancing ourselves from other like-minded businesses… and this is just a 2km relocation. I used to commute from Surrey via walking, bus and train, so I think I’ve just become a little too soft but it does help to be surrounded by peers and the buzz of the network.

The expansion of business is Vancouver is definitely a plus, we just need (more) affordable places to put it all.

I enjoy living downtown, and I enjoy not having a car and walking to work. I also like being able to stop off at London Drugs on my way home or hopping out to grab a steamed bun from Chinatown at lunch. I have nothing against the growing economy of the suburbs, I would just like to see more growth for business in the downtown core. But if I am going to start in on a wish list for downtown, I should really start with more affordable places to live, for everyone.

Photo credit: squeakymarmot

Hip new acronym or buzz word? Kinda. It all started at Podcamp Pittsburgh and it’s been taking over my Twitter airwaves every since.

But just what is bacn aside from sounding like a delicious meat from a magical animal?

It started at the registration desk at Podcamp Pittsburgh 2 on Saturday afternoon. We (Andy Quayle, Jesse Hambley, Tommy Vallier, Jason Head, Val Head and Ann Turiano) were having an amusing discussion about back bacon (aka Canadian bacon) and how some people we know twitter so much we have to turn off notifications for them.

Tommy Vallier mentioned that back bacon is also called peameal bacon. You’ll notice that sounds like”email bacon”. Suddenly, we had both a concept and a name for it. Email bacn – notifications you want, just not right now. It’s not spam – you signed up for it and you actually DO want that information – but yet it still feels like it’s wasting your time. [ThisisPortable]

The group registered a domain on the spot, bacn2.com, and posted the following video.

Will it catch on? More than likely. There was a need for those emails to be named, and that name is now… bacn.

I have an ongoing post about the new Canucks uniforms (as previously mentioned… a lot) but I’m also hoping to cover the unveiling of the official new logo and jersey next Wednesday, August 29nd. Rumours and speculation aside, this will be it folks. Here’s the list of events surrounding the reveal:

The day will be hosted by John Shorthouse, Chris Zimmerman, Dave Nonis and select players.

The tickets are FREE and are available online through Ticketmaster. More details at Canucks.com.

Update: Tickets are now sold out – thanks Bucky!

Also, check out John’s post about the whole ordeal.

Over the last few years Bill Lin and his crew have organized Vancouver’s own version of the Amazing Race, and have done a fantastic job. My sister and I were lucky enough to participate earlier this spring and I have to say it’s a really great adventure.

Since September 2004, The Amazing Hunt introduces this new racing style which provides an opportunity for you to discover a city’s hidden treasure… its culture, landmarks, and history. Our goal is to create a positive and healthy lifestyle in your community while promoting local tourism, business, and charity. [The Amazing Hunt]

The races run every few months in various cities around the lower mainland. Their endurance levels vary as well and there are always new challenges. Although the recent race on August 11th had a fantastic turn out, Bill and his crew are looking for volunteers to help out with the upcoming event in Surrey on September 8th. Visit him over at the Amazing Hunt Blog for more information about racing and volunteering for these great teambuilding events.

Upcoming races:

September 8th 2007 Saturday – Surrey (Space Limited)
October 20th 2007 Saturday – Downtown Victoria

Jenny and I are doing the Surrey race, which won’t be a foot race this time, so if you’re up to the challenge sign on up and we’ll see you there!

I have yet to write an entry on Vancouver Coffee about a certain place in Gastown that just makes my morning with their large coffees and breakfast sammiches, but until then I thought I would toss up another Miss604.com poll.

While I wait for John to get ready and escort me down to 7-11 I’d like to actually find out the best, quickest, tastiest place to grab a cup in Vancouver. Yes, I said 7-11, that’s because it’s cheap and the one on the corner by us seriously tastes great. With so many options out there, including $15 cups from Artigiano I just wanted to know.