2023-05-30 14:43:38
Despite numerous attempts to revitalize downtown Montreal since the pandemic, workers are not yet fully back in offices, even on the busiest days.
Vacant space in office buildings stands at 17.5% in the second quarter of 2022, compared to 16.3% for the equivalent period in 2021, according to a report released on Tuesday by the Business Development Corporation (SDC) Center -City.
Even if teleworking is increasingly carried out in hybrid mode to force workers to return to the office, only 61% of them would travel downtown on Wednesday, the day considered the busiest.
“This level of popularity of teleworking is problematic, especially when combined with a drop in the number of residential construction starts,” said Jean-Marc Fournier, president and CEO of the Urban Development Institute (IDU).
“The data from this report should help governments and the business community guide strategies for vibrant downtown occupancy,” he added.
However, companies are trying to bring their employees back to face-to-face. According to the report, “the number of employers who have adopted a strong office work policy almost tripled, from 5% to 13%” between the first quarters of 2022 and 2023.
Businesses also do not want to lift their sails and leave downtown Montreal. Indeed, 87% of companies surveyed said they wanted to stay in the area.
People have still not all fled the city center, which has been taken over by pedestrians for several weeks. The impact of the lack of face-to-face workers is compensated by the presence of tourists, especially those on business.
The Palais des congrès also had a record financial year, with more than 500,000 people taking part in events in 2022. This represents 64.1% of the attendance noted in 2019.
The number of people in the city center should not weaken during the summer since Tourisme Montréal forecasts 1.5 million more visitors than in 2022. They were already 8 million tourists last year.
According to the SDC Centre-Ville, the business community relies mainly on mobility with public transit, and particularly on the arrival of the section towards the South Shore of the Metropolitan Express Network (REM).
The electric train is however not ready to welcome passengers, because its launch would have been postponed again.
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