It has been a challenging and bumpy five years or so for Edmonton’s commercial real estate, particularly downtown Edmonton offices, restaurants, retail businesses and even doctors’ offices. While the COVID curse is a more and more forgettable distant memory, the impact of the business lockdowns lingered for years. It was also flukey timing for a workplace trend that was already evolving when the pandemic hit: working from home (WFH).
Thanks to digital technology, many Edmonton employees, suddenly or gradually, clicked on to options of working by remote, usually working from home full-time, part-time and eventually a hybrid schedule (mixing some home and some office time). During and since the lockdowns, the popularity of WFH flex times took a toll on downtown restaurants, retail and leased office space.
Some downtown commercial real estate professionals and downtown businesses reported the WFH downtown effects ranging from a serious slump to a ghost town. It choked off traffic and customers for downtown Edmonton businesses and caused significant distress for retailers and restaurants, with many closing or operating at reduced capacity. For some businesses, the lack of daily office worker foot traffic, especially during lunch hours, bordered on a crisis.
According to the Edmonton Downtown Business Association (EDBA), some downtown retail and restaurants dealt with as much as a 90 per cent drop in business, and work-by-remote caused the closure of some established locations in popular spots like Jasper Avenue.
WFH also became a broadside for commercial real estate. It forced offices to review and recalculate just how much space they needed. While Edmonton’s suburban commercial real estate markets remained strong, downtown struggled with office vacancy rates, which surged to 20 per cent.
That was then and this is now. Many Edmonton downtown workers are (gradually and reluctantly) returning to full-time office routines, preferring a hybrid or remote model for better work-life balance, no commute and higher productivity. Some major employers, like the Government of Alberta, ended its pandemic-era hybrid work policy in February 2026, mandating that approximately 9,000 to 12,000 provincial public service employees return to full-time, in-office work.
There is already pushback. Groups like the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) are concerned that the government’s back-to-the-office mandate doesn’t have the necessary infrastructure and office space, warning that their members are struggling to work in cramped buildings that don’t have adequate space, sharing desks and crowding into common areas to work.
Despite some resistance about back-to-the-office, the positive momentum for downtown Edmonton is already noticeable.
“Edmonton has experienced a third straight quarter of positive absorption, meaning more space was leased than vacated, as downtown office leasing is rebounding,” says Cory Wosnack, principal and managing director of Avison Young. “There is rising confidence among Edmonton landlords and tenants, with overall sentiment improving, supported by sustained leasing momentum, increased downtown office utilization and well-positioned investment activity.”
He notes that positive absorption of 367,290 square feet in 2025 marks the strongest annual performance since 2018. Class A average asking rent continued to trend upwards, increasing from $17.75 to $18.00 quarter over quarter.
With much expertise in commercial real estate, Wosnack underscores the back-to-the-office momentum.
“We can already see it happening. As more positive dominos fall, we will see more developers announce housing projects, more ground level businesses open and more socialization downtown as people feel uplifted by the good news events that are redefining the overall downtown Edmonton experience.”
The back-to-the-office impact is also happening in downtown Edmonton restaurants and retail.
More office workers working from home meant fewer people downtown, explains James Robinson, executive director of the Edmonton Downtown Business Association (EDBA).
“Retail took a large hit in the core, with the loss of major retailers like Holt Renfrew and Hudson’s Bay. Downtown became less of a destination for shopping.”
The pendulum is shifting back. Although not all employees and groups like AUPE are happy, the change is an encouraging positive for downtown businesses and Edmonton’s commercial real estate. The reality bottom line is that thousands of people returning is an undeniable positive for the downtown economy.
“More people downtown means more support for local businesses,” Robinson notes, “and that is vital to the city’s prosperity. When local businesses succeed, it boosts the local economy, creates jobs, attracts investment, provides incentives for more businesses to open and provide more to do. It is what supports our ability to attract more talent to our economy and more tourists.”
The EDBA is hopeful about the impact of returning to the office and the early feedback from businesses in the Government District about noticeable increases in sales.
Nate Box is the founder and CEO of Edmonton’s Black Box Hospitality Group, including Rice Howard Place, the new Fox Burger and a new District Café, and says the return of Edmonton’s back-to-the-office trend is already translating into more traffic and a business uptick.
He admits that downtown Edmonton’s office workers are vital for his business’ customer base.
“Being on the corner of 109 Street and 100 Avenue, District Cafe & Bakery is a stone’s throw from so many downtown offices, especially the Government of Alberta. Ten years ago, when we expanded to 3,000 square feet, we wanted to be open morning, noon and night. After a couple of years, we realized that our entire business is wholly dependent on morning and lunch office hours.”
He points out that it’s still early, but the recent boost of the restaurant’s business is due particularly to the mandated return to office.
“We had a 20 per cent increase in the first months of 2026, and that’s huge in our books.”
Liza Zymovets is co-owner and director of Zymo, the popular downtown bar bistro, known for comfort food with a Ukrainian soul. She underscores the downtown importance of back-to-the-office.
“Because we opened after COVID, we don’t have a pre-pandemic baseline, but compared to what a fully occupied downtown would normally provide, weekday lunch traffic has been roughly 30–50 per cent lower than what restaurants historically rely on.”
Even after the lockdowns, she mentions that downtown businesses felt the impact of WFH and hybrid work trends.
“The shift to remote and hybrid work changed the emotional landscape of downtown. It wasn’t about popularity or lack of interest. It was simply about fewer people being downtown. Increases in office occupancy have an immediate effect. The restaurant feels fuller, the energy shifts, conversations return and it entirely changes the atmosphere,” she says.
The GOA mandate and the overall back-to-the-office trend is encouraging good news for downtown commercial real estate and downtown revitalization.
“We can already see it happening,” Wosnacki says with enthusiasm.”
Robinson emphasizes that more people downtown means more support for local businesses, and that is vital to Edmonton’s prosperity.
“It boosts the local economy, creates jobs, attracts investment, and provides incentives for more businesses to open and succeed.”