Why You Can't Ignore Creative Office - Real Estate Bisnow (Toronto)
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Real Estate Bisnow
online commercial real estate news
Toronto, ON
June 20, 2014
June 20, 2014
Want to attract employees? That's what converting to creative office is all
about, Allied Properties' Tom Burns told over 200 at Bisnow's Creative
Office Summit.
“The tenants are chasing the talent, and urban has lots of legs,” Tom tells
said. He's not so sure about suburban space. “All the young people want to
live in downtown Toronto; they don't want to get in a car and drive to
Markham or Mississauga to work.” (Are we sure the problem isn't just bad
radios?) Being closer to talent is a major trend when it comes to creative
office—in addition to high ceilings, open collaborative space, larger
floorplates, and, yes, even great views. Pictured: Hullmark VP Aly Damji,
Robert Eisenberg, and Rodney McDonald.
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Why You Can't Ignore Creative Office - Real Estate Bisnow (Toronto)
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http://www.bisnow.com/commercial-real-estate/toronto/2063-why-you-ca...
Aly says Hullmark benefits from tenants "that want to showcase their space
as part of their corporate culture." Toronto Carpet Factory and 60 Atlantic
Ave in Toronto's downtown west are examples of that. Colliers' John
Arnoldi says Mindsets are changing. Twenty years ago decisions on
office space came down to where the CEO wanted to be. No more. “The
Millennials won't relocate for a job. They will go where they want to live,
then find a job,” John says. Snapped is our first panel: Tom, John Arnoldi,
Oxford's John Peets, Aly, York Heritage Properties' Robert Eisenberg,
and moderator Rodney McDonald of Avison Young.
For John, the advantages in creative office are being captured in newer
projects like Oxford's new RBC WaterPark Place. Open, collaborative
space driven by technology is all well and good, but companies still need
private areas for people to work in silence. (Not everyone is as excited to
hear the Jason Mraz album as you are. Shocking, right?)
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Why You Can't Ignore Creative Office - Real Estate Bisnow (Toronto)
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http://www.bisnow.com/commercial-real-estate/toronto/2063-why-you-ca...
People need to take off the blinders when talking about creative office
being the domain of older, brick and beam spaces, John says. There are
vertical campuses in towers, more creative, broad open spaces. York's
portfolio features brick and beam, especially in places like Liberty Village.
While acknowledging that there are fewer older buildings that can allow
the kind of controls and larger floorplates that many companies need as
they mature, Robert says they tend to go into towers because there isn't a
viable alternative: “If there was, they'd grab it.”
Our second panel featured tenants talking about what they look for.
Google Canada's Andrea Janus, who oversees the company's Kitchener,
Montreal, Ottawa, and Toronto (111 Richmond St W) offices, says their
objective is to “focus on the user and create a space where they can
work at any time and in any way.” Location and flexibility moves the
needle for them—being able to work with landlords and create the type of
space they need as they grow. The panel: iQ office co-founder Kane
Wilmott, Ashlar Urban's Michael Scace, Andrea, BrightLane's George
Horhota, Konrad Group's Georgie Konrad, Gilliam Group's Marcus
Gillam.
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Why You Can't Ignore Creative Office - Real Estate Bisnow (Toronto)
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Kane says people want to go to work and get inspired. “You need to
create energy, versus going to the office and closing the door and getting to
work,” he says. George says not to underestimate outdoor spaces like
terraces: “These are factors tenants are increasingly looking for; it helps
make people more productive.” (You don't have to leave work early for
the airport if you can just hop on the plane from your terrace.) Google has
an outdoor mini putt, where employees collaborate—a different way of
looking at space, Andrea says. “There is a purpose behind everything we
put in the space.”
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