Office property assessments
Office properties are generally designed for and used by administrative, managerial, corporate, or government tenants. They are typically purchased as an investment so their ability to generate income is the most important feature when estimating their market value.
Influencing the value of the property
The potential income from an office building is affected by many factors including:
Location
Office properties are in one of three major market areas:
- Downtown
- Beltline
- Suburban
These market areas are further divided into smaller submarket zones based on market characteristics. Each submarket area is analyzed to determine the assessed rates.
Actual year of construction (AYOC)
The year the building was constructed according to the building permits. Effective Year of Construction could be applied if the property was substantially renovated.
Assessable building area
Assessable office areas are primarily determined by the rentable area noted on the Assessment Request for Information (ARFI)/rent roll. Other sources such as building plans, site inspections and communication with property owners/managers may also be used to verify data.
Quality
We assign each property a quality ranking to compare against similar properties.
Properties are assigned a quality rating mainly based on characteristics such as:
- year of construction
- type of construction
- building finishes
- building amenities
- building functionality
- physical condition of the building
- parking availability and capacity
- location/exposure/accessibility
Space type
Office properties are typically comprised of the following types of spaces:
- office
- retail
- storage
- enclosed parking
Each type of space has an impact on the property’s overall income generating potential.
Office properties are grouped into the following categories in order to determine their assessments:
| Categories | Description |
|---|---|
| Categories: Beltline Office | Description: Property located within the Beltline region designed for predominantly office use. The Beltline region is located directly south of the Downtown region and is bordered on the south east end by the Elbow River, the far west end extends to the intersection of Crowchild Trail and Bow Trail SW. |
| Categories: Downtown Office | Description: Property located within the Downtown region designed for predominantly office use. The region is bordered on the north by the Bow River, on the west by 14 Street, on the east by 6 Street and on the south by the Canadian Pacific Railway right-of-way. |
| Categories: House Conversion | Description: Residential house which has been converted partially or fully into commercial use. |
| Categories: Office Condos | Description: Condominium unit within non-residential or residential property designed for office use. |
| Categories: Parkade | Description: Parking structure not associated with another property designed specifically for vehicle parking. |
| Categories: Small Office | Description: Property located outside of the Downtown and Beltline areas designed for predominantly office use and is less than 10,000 square feet excluding storage space. |
| Categories: Suburban Office | Description: Property located outside of the Downtown and Beltline areas designed for predominantly office use. |
| Categories: Suburban Office Medical/Dental |
Description: Property located outside of the Downtown and Beltline areas designed for predominantly office use with most tenants being medical and/or dental professionals. |
Land value
Office properties may be assessed solely on its land value if the value of the vacant land exceeds the value of the improved property. Office property would typically not be assessed based on land value if it was given a heritage designation by any level of government which restricts the redevelopment of the property.