Downtown office vacancy drops to 12.4% as two towers leave leasing market
Ottawa's core office vacancy fell over a full percentage point in Q2 after major deals and two properties repositioned off the market, Colliers reported.
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Ottawa's downtown office vacancy rate dropped to 12.4% at the end of June, down from 13.5% in the first quarter, according to real estate brokerage Colliers.
The decline was driven by two factors: new lease signings and the removal of two lower-tier office towers from the downtown inventory. The two buildings — a 16-storey, 89,000-square-foot tower at 85 Albert Street and a 10-storey, 97,000-square-foot highrise at 116 Albert Street — are both owned by Metcalfe Realty, which is looking to "reposition" them.
Warren Wilkinson, Colliers' senior managing director in Ottawa, said the removal created an "artificial tightening" of the class-B and C vacancy rates. Downtown office properties recorded 100,256 square feet of net absorption between April and June, with class-A buildings accounting for 71,000 square feet.
The downtown vacancy rate remains higher than the 11.4% recorded a year earlier. Class-A properties face particular pressure, with their vacancy rate climbing to 10.8% compared with 9.3% in Q2 2025 as Constitution Square and Minto Place work to fill tenant departures.
The facts
What was Ottawa's downtown office vacancy rate at the end of June 2026?
Ottawa's downtown office vacancy rate was 12.4% at the end of June 2026, down from 13.5% in the first quarter of 2026.
Which two office towers were removed from Ottawa's downtown inventory?
The two towers removed from downtown Ottawa's inventory were located at 85 Albert Street (a 16-storey, 89,000-square-foot building) and 116 Albert Street (a 10-storey, 97,000-square-foot building), both owned by Metcalfe Realty.
How much office space was absorbed downtown between April and June 2026?
Downtown Ottawa office properties recorded 100,256 square feet of net absorption between April and June 2026, with class-A buildings accounting for 71,000 square feet of that total.
