Serene S.Y. Chow 周兆盈*

Serene Chow has a commercial real estate practice focused on commercial leasing. Her work involves all aspects of commercial leasing, representing both landlords and tenants, in negotiating lease transactions of office, retail, industrial and mixed use projects. Her experience involves extensive work with several institutional investors and asset/property management companies of office towers, industrial and retail properties across major Canadian markets.

Leasing

Serene’s experience includes:

• Acting for the landlord in office/retail buildings in the downtown Vancouver core, office buildings throughout the Lower Mainland of British Columbia and shopping malls throughout British Columbia and Alberta, including one shopping mall with over 1,200,000 square feet of retail space leased to national and international tenants
• Acting for the landlord in office/retail buildings in the downtown Vancouver core, industrial buildings in Metro Vancouver, and office and industrial buildings in Alberta, as well as shopping centres in both British Columbia and Alberta
• Acting for the landlord in an office/retail complex in downtown Vancouver core with over 1,500,000 square feet of space
• Acting for the landlord in mixed-use assets in the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island and the Southern Interior of British Columbia, as well as industrial buildings and a suburban office campus in Alberta
• Acting for the landlord in office complexes and industrial parks in suburban Toronto with one portfolio of over 800,000 square feet of mixed office and industrial space, and office complex with over 1,000,000 square feet and office/retail complex with over 1,400,000 square feet in Alberta, as well as various other office buildings in western Canada
• Acting for the landlord of an industrial park with over 200 acres of industrial space in respect of leases for commercial industries supplying northern oil sands developments.

Throughout her career, Serene has been very active in her community and is a mentor to many law students and associates. In 2011, she formed the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers BC chapter and regularly speaks on various aspects of the local Asian Canadian legal landscape to a broad range of professional groups.

In addition to legal work, Serene is committed to giving back to the local community through serving on the board of Downtown Van, an organization dedicated to promoting economic development, community safety and opportunity for the businesses and property owners in Vancouver’s downtown core.

Professional Activities

• • Director, Downtown Van
  • Past President, Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers (BC Chapter)
  • Past FACL BC Representative, Local County and Bar Presidents, Canadian Bar Association
  • Member, Christian Legal Fellowship (Canada)
  • Member, Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers (BC Chapter)

Recognition

• CREA 2024 – Best Office Lease: B6 is the 2nd largest office lease ever completed in the City of Vancouver / Province of BC, comprising approximately 410,000 ft² (21 full floors) of pre-leasing in 1090 W Pender St to one of the largest companies in the world and completed 18 months prior to the building’s completion
• Best Lawyers in Canada – In the areas of real estate and commercial leasing