Edmonton’s office real estate market is experiencing a resurgence, says a new report from Avison Young.

The sector recorded 165,000 square feet of positive absorption in the third quarter, surpassing the 159,000 sf achieved in the same period in 2018, Avison Young said in its latest Edmonton quarterly office report. (Positive absorption means that more space was leased than vacated.)

Positive absorption of 86,000 sf on the South Side and 83,000 sf in the government district led to the overall total, said the company.

In notable transactions, educational users leased a total of 124,000 sf of former office space. Classical Academy Charter School took up 61,000 sf on a five-year lease of the former Service Alberta building at 3720 76th Avenue. Meanwhile, Norquest College expanded its downtown footprint by leasing 63,000 sf in the Intact building on Jasper Avenue.

“These two examples illustrate the transformation of underutilized office spaces to accommodate new purposes,” said Avison Young in the report.