Bay Street, Avenue des Canadiens-de-Montreal among the most expensive streets in Canada

TORONTO, December 15, 2017 – JLL Canada today announced the release of its annual Most Expensive Streets for Office Space in Canada Report. According to this report, Toronto's Bay Street retains its position as Canada's most expensive street for the seventh consecutive year. With 4% increase in average rent from $67.31 per square foot in 2016 to $70.14 in 2017, Bay Street located in the downtown financial district of Toronto, once again outranks other major city streets.

Vancouver's famous Burrard Street remains the second most expensive street at $61.52 per square foot, while Montreal's Des Canadiens-de-Montréal Avenue climbed to number three with $52.18 per square foot in average rent.  

 "It is not surprising that Bay Street has maintained its position as the most expensive street in Toronto and Canada in general" says Brett Miller, CEO of JLL Canada. "The continued demand for downtown office spaces by tech companies not just in Toronto but also in Vancouver and Montreal is a major factor driving up rents on these streets".

Des Canadiens-de-Montréal Avenue, located between de la Montagne and Peel appears on the list of Most Expensive Street for the first time since the report was introduced in 2011 with an average rent that is 8% higher than what was recorded for the occupant of the number 3 position in 2016.  This exponential growth is attributed to the addition of two new towers on the street.

"The downtown Montreal office market received a boost in 2017 with the addition of the L'Avenue building" says Andrew Bissett, JLL's Executive Vice President, Tenant Representation Group. "The combined presence of L'Avenue and the Deloitte Tower, both located on Des Canadiens-de-Montréal Avenue have changed the Montreal skyline and drove the street to prominence."

Alberta as a whole, continues to grapple with the impact of low oil prices on the economy with Calgary particularly impacted due to the high concentration of energy companies occupying spaces in the downtown market. Calgary's 8th Avenue SW slipped one position down from its 5th position in 2016 to 6th position in 2017. With almost 10% decline in average rent from $45.89 in 2016 to $41.83 in 2017, 8th Avenue, between 1st Street SW and 5th Street SW seems to have returned to a state of decline experienced between 2014 and 2016. 

About JLL

JLL (NYSE: JLL) is a leading professional services firm that specializes in real estate and investment management. A Fortune 500 company, JLL helps real estate owners, occupiers and investors achieve their business ambitions. In 2016, JLL had revenue of $6.8 billion and fee revenue of $5.8 billion and, on behalf of clients, managed 4.4 billion square feet, or 409 million square meters, and completed sales acquisitions and finance transactions of approximately $145 billion. At the end of the third quarter of 2017, JLL had nearly 300 corporate offices, operations in over 80 countries and a global workforce of over 80,000. As of September 30, 2017, LaSalle Investment Management had $59.0 billion of real estate under asset management. JLL is the brand name, and a registered trademark, of Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated. For further information, visit ir.jll.com.