New hospital in Waterloo set to spike demand for medical office space
Posted Jan 15, 2025 10:59:40 AM.
Last Updated Jan 15, 2025 11:32:21 AM.
Commercial real estate experts say the soon-to-be-built, state-of-the-art hospital in Waterloo could cause a significant shift in the local real estate market.
The hospital, a collaboration between Grand River Hospital, St. Mary’s General Hospital, and the University of Waterloo, is set to be completed by 2035.
Commercial real estate services firm CBRE recently released their 2025 Canadian Real Estate Market Outlook, explaining the growth in the medical office sector, spurred on by the new hospital.
“What we’re gonna see is specialists and out-patient services get their roots in, in and around the area of that hospital,” said Cooney. “We’re already seeing it right now, a growth in this vertical to convert some of this existing office space to medical.”
Cooney predicts that, within the next two years, 250,000 square feet of space could be absorbed into the medical sector.
“Landlords need to take a look at their portfolios and they need to figure out how to get bodies into their space,” he said. “It’s just a matter of figuring out what the permitted uses are and how they can make it work.”
As a case study, Cooney explained that CBRE recently sold Northfield Park’s office campus, formerly a Blackberry building, adding that that building could be transformed from tech space into medical space, giving them the ability to repurpose the existing technology in that building for medical applications.
Cooney added that Waterloo Region is the fastest growing region in Ontario, and with that growth, comes an increased demand in medical services.
