COVID-19 pandemic stretches into its second year, a walk or drive through the streets of downtown Montreal remains ominously quiet.The vacancy rate of commercial office space in the fourth quarter of 2020 was 12.1 per cent, the highest in three years according to a report issued earlier this month by Devencore, a real estate brokerage and advisory firm.“No one saw this coming.
It’s a disaster,” Jean Laurin, Devencore president and CEO, told Global News.Since the start of the pandemic, 1.3 million square feet of real estate office space (slightly less than the 40-storey National Bank office tower being built downtown) has added to the vacancy rate, according to the report.Montreal is not alone in struggling through the pandemic, according to.