Downtown commercial and office space is still less popular than what's offered in outlying areas, according to a report to city council.
During Monday night's meeting, council will receive the report from planning technician Laurie-Ann Kosec on 2012 vacancy rates throughout the city.
The study found that 13.3 per cent of the total downtown retail/service and office space is empty compared to a 9.9 per cent vacancy rate in major shopping centres.
But that shopping centre number is inflated by the closure of Zellers at Pine Centre Mall. According to the report, the vacancy rate is further reduced to 3.7 per cent when the new Target retail store is factored in.
Despite losing out to areas such as the Hart, College Heights and Westgate, downtown vacancies have decreased 1.9 per cent from 2011.
The amount of space available in the city centre has also gone down by more than four per cent over the span of a year.
"The decrease in total floor area is attributed to the demolition of buildings such as the former PG Hotel, as well as the Bingo Hall that is the site of the new RCMP building currently under construction," Kosec wrote.
Between 2011 and 2012, the total floor area of retail/service and office use in the downtown decreased by 4.4 per cent.
The annual study, typically conducted in the winter, excludes government buildings but Kosec noted a potential trend in office usage.
From 2009, there has been a 5.9 per cent increase in office space tenants, specifically at the street level.
"This trend may reflect an increasing interest amongst the professional sector to relocate within the downtown," Kosec wrote.
The city's official community plan demonstrates a preference for office use in the city centre.
"Office uses outside the downtown should be limited to those professional services that are regularly used by individuals, for who nearby access is important, such as insurance, banks, medical and dental offices..." according to the OCP.
In January, city council approved a zoning variance that allowed a natural gas company to set up a regional headquarters in the Spruceland area against the recommendation of planning staff.
"Although all of the planning documents would like to see these types of office locations in the downtown core or in the business districts, there's a disconnect between what the plans are asking and what's actually available on the ground," said Claire Negrin, speaking on behalf of the applicant at the Jan. 23 meeting. "And I'm sure the staff report on vacancies will tell you that."
Kosec's report cites the total downtown office vacancy at 10.8 per cent, a 2.7 per cent decrease from the year before.