| Marpole Commercial Area Profile
Comprised mainly of commercial district zoning (primarily C-2 and C-1) with some C-2C and one comprehensive development zoning (CD-1), the Marpole BIA contains a mix of old and new developments. The area is currently well served by local businesses, with comparatively fewer major chain stores than most other BIAs in Vancouver. This report provides an overview of the Marpole commercial market, focusing primarily on zoning and development potential as well as business and employee mix.1 The Marpole Neighbourhood Market Profile focuses on key market information including population, household and spending statistics. 1. Unless otherwise stated, source of all statistics is City of Vancouver or Small Business BC (InfoCanada) data files. Info Canada files are based on postal code boundaries. As such, some minor inconsistencies with actual BIA profile may occur. Fast Facts
topPhysical ProfileThe Marpole BIA is situated at the southwest edge of the City of Vancouver, approximately 5.5 kilometres from City Hall and 6.75 kilometres from downtown.2 The 8.4 hectare BIA is home to 44 commercial properties and 194 businesses. A mix of old and new developments, the BIA has one structure listed on the Vancouver Heritage Register – 8555 Granville Street (Safeway, which is listed as “A,” meaning it is a good example of a particular style of architecture). Several others are in close proximity. Key elements of the BIA’s physical profile are discussed below. 2. Source: City of Vancouver VanMap. Zoning MixThe Marpole BIA comprises over 11 acres of land, 318,055 square feet of commercial area and 64,211 square feet of residential area. City of Vancouver records indicate the BIA consists mainly of Commercial District Zoning: primarily C-2 and C-1 with some C-2C, as well as one comprehensive development zoned property (CD-1) as illustrated in Figure 2. This zoning mix encourages provision of a wide range of goods and services, while maintaining small scale convenience establishments. It also promotes pedestrian-oriented retail and residential development, with limited office development. Development is limited to less than four stories.
Assessed ValueIn terms of assessed value, Marpole ranks 17th highest among Vancouver BIAs. The total 2005 assessed value of all Marpole BIA commercial properties was $74,654,977. This represents 3% of the value of all Vancouver BIA properties outside of Downtown and contributes over $1.2 million in property taxes. Age and Quality of BuildingsThe majority of commercial buildings in Marpole were constructed prior to 1971 (14% before 1946 and 38% from 1946 to 1970). Figure 3a illustrates the complete breakdown. However, as Figure 3b illustrates, more than 52% of the pre-1970 structures have been renovated, and currently only 7% reflect pre-1946 standards. Fully 45% have an ”effective” build year of 1971 to 1990, while 18% have an “effective” build year of 1991 and newer. Lease and Vacancy RatesReflecting its successful niche serving primarily the residential community, the Marpole BIA has a low vacancy rate.3 A January 2006 survey of the BIA found no commercial properties available for lease. 3. BIA physical survey, January 2006 by National Land Consultants, Lucent Strategies and Girard Land Services. Development Potential
The majority of the northern portion of the BIA has been redeveloped to modern commercial buildings and/or 3-4 storey mixed-use commercial/residential units. As commercial rental rates increase due to prevailing market forces, future redevelopment of the remaining properties at the south end of the BIA is likely. Business MixThe zoning mix and commercial building structure of the Marpole BIA primarily support service and retail establishments. The majority of businesses (64%) in the BIA are ‘micro’ sized – less than five employees, although there are a significant number (35%) of businesses with 5-20 employees in the area. Major business types include eating and drinking places, health services, miscellaneous retail, personal services, business services and food stores, as described in more detail below.
Business TypesSimilar to the average for the City of Vancouver and GVRD, the Marpole BIA is primarily comprised of service and retail businesses. However, reflecting its commercial zoning, the BIA has more service and retail than average for the City and the GVRD, and significantly less “other” such as wholesale and manufacturing, as Figure 4 illustrates. Table 1 provides a detailed breakdown of business types for the Marpole area as compared with the City and the GVRD.
Of the 48% service businesses, the most common are health services (37%), personal services (24%) and business services (12%), as outlined in Table 2 below. Of the 35% retail businesses, most are eating and drinking places (38%), miscellaneous retail (34%) and food stores (12%), as illustrated in Table 2.
As for individual business types, there are a significant number of restaurants (23) as well as banks (9), beauty salons (9), dentists (9), physicians and surgeons (8) and chiropractors (6). Business SizeThe Marpole BIA is primarily comprised of ‘micro’ sized businesses with less than 5 employees (64%), followed by small sized businesses with 5-20 employees (35%), as illustrated in Figure 5. There are no businesses with more than 50 employees in the BIA and only two with more than 20 (Safeway and Pizza Hut).
Age of BusinessReflecting the stability of Marpole’s residential base, many Marpole businesses (39%) have been operating for over 10 years. However, also reflecting the new development that has taken place in the area, as well as general market forces in Vancouver, several others (19%) are only 1-2 years of age. Figure 6 provides more detail on the distribution of business ages.
Anchor Tenants and Dominant BusinessesAnchor tenants in the Marpole BIA include Safeway, Garden Works, the library, liquor store and seven financial institutions. The BIA has several other business clusters including:
On a percentage basis, the Marpole BIA has significantly more health services, banks/financial, personal service, food stores and miscellaneous retail businesses than average for the City and the region. It also has a higher percentage of eating and drinking establishments. In addition to having fewer businesses within other sectors as outlined in Table 1 above due to its zoning, the BIA also has comparatively fewer wholesale, legal and engineering/management service businesses than average for the City or the Region. Within the context of its zoning, the Marpole BIA enjoys a broad mix of retail and service businesses. This strong commercial service base would also benefit from additional businesses providing building materials, hardware, garden supply, automotive repair and services, and possibly more social services. Change in Business MixBetween 2000 and 2005, the number of businesses in the Marpole BIA grew by only 12.9%, significantly lower than the Vancouver average of 20.2%, but in keeping with the GVRD average of 13.9%. Growth was highest among the following sectors:
The manufacturing sector declined in this time period, reducing by 100% (from two businesses to none). This sector declined by significantly more than average for the City of Vancouver or the GVRD. In terms of sub-industries, the fastest growing in the BIA were eating and drinking places (8 businesses), depository institutions (5) and health services (4). Figure 7 provides a breakdown of the top 10 fastest growing Marpole BIA sub-industries, as defined by Statistics Canada.
Demand PotentialThe Marpole BIA’s demand potential comes from three primary sources – residents in the area, BIA employees, and other employees in the surrounding area. In addition, businesses in the BIA are exposed to thousands of daily commuters and City residents traveling by bus, bike and car. Each of these potential customer groups is discussed below. topResidential BaseJust over 14,500 residents live within the BIA’s primary catchment area (a 1 kilometre radius of 68th Avenue and Granville Street) and provide the primary market base for businesses. Marpole is a younger to middle-aged, highly educated and ethnically diverse community at the southwest edge of Vancouver, with many new Canadians. The area is comprised of proportionately more residents with Chinese, British and Canadian heritage than average for the City of Vancouver. English is the dominant household language for area residents; however, many other languages are commonly heard in the area, including a strong Chinese base as well as Tagalog (Filipino), Russian, Japanese and Spanish. Household sizes in the area are typical for Vancouver and slightly smaller than the GVRD. With a high proportion of apartment-type housing and a high mobility rate, the Marpole area has significantly fewer homeowners than the City or GVRD overall. Marpole also has significantly more immigrants from outside Canada than average for the City or Region. Reflecting the higher proportion of Marpole residents currently attending school, higher recent immigration levels and slightly smaller household sizes, Marpole exhibits lower average household incomes than residents of Vancouver and the GVRD overall. The Marpole Neighbourhood Market Profile provides more detail about this important market segment. Employee BaseApproximately 1,000 people are employed within the BIA itself.4 An additional 4,255 work within a 1-kilometre radius of the BIA, providing an additional potential market base for businesses. Between 2000 and 2005, the Marpole employee base increased by 18%, whereas employment for the businesses in the surrounding area increased by only 11%. 4. Source of employee information is InfoCanada via Small Business BC. topPedestrian and Vehicle TrafficGranville Street is a major transportation corridor running through the BIA. It is also the southern gateway into the City of Vancouver from Richmond, Tsawwassen, Delta, White Rock and the airport, providing the BIA with thousands of daily commuters and City residents. As Figure 8 indicates, all major intersections along Granville Street within the BIA see upwards of 35,000 to 40,000 vehicles per day (orange areas on the map).
Although there are parking restrictions along Granville Street during peak periods, there is ample street parking at businesses and in the surrounding neighbourhood. And, with frequent bus service throughout the day, businesses in the Marpole BIA have potential to capture some of these high daily through-traffic volumes as customers. It is important to note that with the completion of the Canada Line (Richmond-Airport-Vancouver rapid transit line) in 2009, the current Richmond B-Line will cease to operate, which will reduce the commuter bus frequency along the Granville corridor. However, the local #10 and #17 routes will continue to operate, which is the primary source of transit for Marpole BIA shoppers.5 The City of Vancouver conducts pedestrian counts for approximately 250 blocks in the city, with the majority being in the downtown area. The most current pedestrian information available is for 2002. The representative location selected by the City for the Marpole BIA is the 8400 block of Granville Street (68th and Granville), which is the core pedestrian block within the BIA. The 8400 Granville Street block sees in the range of 450 (west side) to 1,226 (east side) pedestrians per day. The City ranks this combination of pedestrian activity to sidewalk size as a level of service ‘A’, which represents a relatively moderate pedestrian throughput. The dominant hour for pedestrian traffic is 11-12 pm on both the west and east sides. The location ranks 482nd (west side) and 359th (east side) of the 501 block locations ranked in the 2002 survey. By comparison, the busiest block in the City (north side of Robson at Burrard) sees 29,182 pedestrians per day, with a level of service ‘D’ (significantly more crowded). Since May 2002 was the first time the Marpole BIA was surveyed, trend analysis is not currently available. 5. Marpole BIA indicates that local residents are primary market base for businesses in the BIA, with relatively few customers coming from the daytime commuting through-traffic. topWhat Existing Businesses SayThe Marpole BIA was established in 2000, and continued the work of the Marpole Business and Landlords Association, which had been operating since the 1970s. The focus of the BIA has been to develop, promote and enhance the commercial area as a comfortable, fun, pedestrian-friendly neighbourhood for residents and families. The Marpole BIA’s 2004 member survey revealed the following as priority concerns for BIA members:
The BIA will conduct a pedestrian and traffic volume study in spring 2006, including the volume of pedestrian and vehicle traffic, vehicular speed, as well as the number of pedestrians attempting to cross at the intersection of 66th Avenue and Granville Street. Conclusions
The zoning mix and commercial building structure of the Marpole BIA primarily support service and retail establishments. Within this context, the Marpole BIA enjoys a broad mix of businesses. The area’s growing residential base provides the primary market base, and is well served by local businesses, with comparatively fewer major chain stores than most other BIAs. This strong commercial service base would also benefit from additional businesses providing building materials, hardware, garden supply, automotive repair and services, and possibly more social services. Reflecting its successful niche serving primarily the residential community, the Marpole BIA has a low vacancy rate. With the BIA’s proximity to downtown, the City of Richmond and Vancouver International Airport and its growing residential base, the service and retail business opportunities are increasingly favourable. As commercial rental rates increase due to prevailing market forces, remaining one- and two-storey commercial properties likely will redevelop. top |
The Marpole Business Improvement Area (BIA) is a relatively small area (see Figure 1). Its boundaries include the six blocks between West 63rd and West 71st Streets on Granville Street. The BIA comprises approximately 14,500 residents, 194 businesses and approximately 1,000 daytime employees. Another 4,255 employees work within a one-kilometre radius of the BIA, providing an additional potential market for businesses locating here.
At the northern foot of the Arthur Laing Bridge and southern foot of Granville Street, the Marpole BIA is the gateway to Vancouver for thousands of residents, commuters, visitors and tourists every day. Commercial properties in this small but mighty BIA are consistently fully leased. The area’s residential base provides the primary market base, and is well served by local businesses, with comparatively fewer major chain stores than most other BIAs.
