Yahoo! Canada – Toronto Office

I had the pleasure of meeting Joanne Acri (@joanneacri) and Sarah Bradley (@sbradley) last week to tour the Yahoo! Canada Toronto office at 207 Queens Quay.  We sat down to discuss the building, the landlord and why Yahoo! decided to move their offices from Front Street down to the lake front.

It doesn’t take much to make a good impression with me when I meet clients for a first time so when I walked into reception and was offered candy and coffee it was off to a great start.  Joanne and Sarah lead me into the lunchroom where we chatted about the corporate culture at Yahoo! (conclusion awesome!).  The lounge / lunchroom we were in was outfitted with a Foosball table and arcade game and was surrounded by flat screens tuned in to the latest news from CP24.  If you are interested in hearing more about the corporate culture or Yahoo’s space you can reach out to Joanne or Sarah directly via Twitter, I’m sure they’d be happy to help you out!

From a commercial real estate / building perspective, here are some of the things you should think about before you consider 207 Queens Quay as a tenant.

The Good
The lobby show’s very well, as do the common areas.  The building is occupied by tenant’s like Bell Canada and Wind Mobile, so you’re in great company.  The building is run by Brookfield, one of the top property managers in Canada (if not the world).  What really blew me away was the views over the lake and the incredible natural light.  This was the feature that Joanne and Sarah suggested was was their favorite too.

The Tough
The most problematic thing with 207 Queens Quay was getting there.  A quick 10 minute walk from the Financial Core can feel a lot longer in winter.  On the flip side, in the summer, the area can become inundated with tourists which can drive up prices at local restaurants.  The volume of people and traffic can be hectic and get frustrating if you need to leave the office quickly to get to a meeting.  That being said, it’s located right smack in the middle of Toronto’s waterfront and the boardwalk offers incredible outdoor opportunities, particularly in the warmer months.

Overall, I was encouraged with the building and can see tenants overcoming the difficulties of the location to get an A+ landlord and into a great building with some of the coolest tenants and views a building can offer.

Thanks for the tour guys!

PS. Does your company have cool office space you would like to show off or do you have complaints / complements about your building you are in, please let me know.  Nothing like bad or good press to get a Landlord to smarten up and take notice!  Here is a quick survey to help you structure your input – Building Questionnaire

Click on the image below for a larger version of the picture.

Top 25 Commercial Real Estate Brands!

Every year the Lipsey Company comes out with the top Commercial Real Estate brands.  Colliers hit number 2!

10 Important Factors To Consider When Leasing Your Space

Original Post From ROFO

Below we will reflect on how most companies make the decision about where to locate the office.

1. Location, Location, Location: Not only a real estate adage, but a fact of life. The location of the office is usually described as the either the biggest benefit or biggest negative.
2. Commute Patterns: Take a preliminary survey of your companies thoughts on their current commutes to determine how the new office location might effect their commute pattern.

3. Amenities: What restaurants and coffee shops are available nearby? Being in an isolated office park can be a very bad situation for the comfort of employees. At times in cannot be helped, but being in close proximity to the amenities employees use during their lunch break can be a huge recruiting advantage. Try a site like Walkscore.com.

4. Safety: What is the neighborhood like late in the evening? Have there been office or car break ins in the neighborhood recently? Would a female employee feel comfortable walking to their car or public transportation after working late on a project? All of these issues should be considered when considering your next location.

5. Layout of the Space: Is the layout of the space desirable. Is there good separation between the lobby and the work space? Is there separation between the kitchen and the work space so food smells don’t permeate the office. Is there good natural light?
6. Image of the Building: The question depends on how you are trying to present yourself to your clients and potential employees. If you are a law firm that helps with class action suits, it might not make sense to have the top floor of the nicest building in town. If you are the high powered corporate firm, it might be absolutely necessary to display that image. The location, layout, and feel of your building and space will leave an impression on your visitors and should be considered in your decision making process.
7. Parking/Public Transportation: The proximity to public transportation and affordable and convenient parking are extremely important. Many of your key employees might need quick access to transportation as they visit clients while others need convenient and affordable ways to get to the office. The more transportation options the better.
8. Recruiting: Will your location and building aid or hamper you in your recruiting efforts for top talent. How will the location effect current employees?
9. Expansion: Will your location allow for easy expansion? Is there space available nearby that can work if there is not space within your building?
10. Building Ownership & Maintenance: Is the ownership local? Is the HVAC system consistently broken? Your landlords involvement and attitude and responsiveness towards tenant repairs should be a critical element of your building decision.

Virtual Tour – 100 King Street West – Toronto

Great little sublease space at 100 King Street West – call or email for floor plans and rental rates – 416-992-9869

99 Atlantic Avenue – Downtown West Toronto

I was out on tour with Red Juice Media looking at some new office space this week (You can track down Julie here). We saw some very interesting space at 99 Atlantic Avenue, check out the pics and the video.

OfficeSearchToronto.com tracks available office space across the GTA. Want a survey or availability report somewhere else in Toronto? Are these space too big? Call us at 416-992-9869 or E-mail Me!

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com. [Read more]

A Real Estate Agents job can be like a dating website

A good real estate agent will put you and your company first.  Not only will they listen to your real estate needs but also about your business and what it is you do.  The really good agent will update you on your competition and companies within your industry and can even refer you business.  Imagine having business referred by your real estate agent instead of the other way around!

Plentyoffish.com – Part of my job is to set tenants up with temporary space – either in my clients offices (the ones that have extra space right now) or in a business center like Regus, CSI or Comaraderie.  It’s like speed dating or a friends with benefits scenario – all about the short term commitment or no commitment at all.

Lavalife.com – for those tenants looking for a slightly longer term or life commitment.  These tenants are tired of playing the field and want to settle down with just the right landlord and space and get down to business.

Finally – there’s AshleyMaddisson.com – Tenants that want to sublease, downsize or get out of their complicated long term relationships but want to do it expertly and quietly.

Just a thought… what dating site do you need your agent to be?

Commercial Real Estate News Toronto – February 2010 – 2/2

LoopNet Releases Next Generation of LoopLink – LoopNet

LoopNet which operates the largest online commercial real estate marketplace, today announced the release of LoopLink 8.0, the new and improved, faster, search-engine-optimized property listing and display engine. Powering over 1,000 commercial real estate web sites LoopNet’s LoopLink technology is the #1 technology for searching and displaying commercial properties online.

Yahoo Wed Feb 17 2010

Three more things to know about leasing

Options to renew a lease are great to have in your back pocket, but in some markets it’s better to negotiate a new lease on new terms than to renew the old lease. Again, it depends on whether it’s a rising or falling rental market and it depends on what city the premises are in. A good strategy would be to talk to the landlord about a new lease two or three months before the date you have to exercise the option to renew.

Globe and Mail Tue Feb 16 2010

Brookfield Real Estate Services Fund Completes $53 Million Debt Refinancing – Brookfield Real Estate Services Fund – BRE.UN-T

Brookfield Real Estate Services Fund completed the refinancing of its $53 million debt obligations. The refinancing is comprised of a $32.7 million private debt placement with a number of Canadian institutional investors with interest fixed 5.809% and a $20.3 million bank facility with interest available in the form of floating prime rate, or at Banker’s Acceptance rates plus 3% with terms of up to six months.

Canada News Wire Fri Feb 19 2010

GTA Commercial REALTORS® Release Commercial Market Report

Last month, TREB Commercial Members reported 660,815 square feet of leased space. This result was a substantial increase compared to the 336,029 leased square feet recorded in January of 2009, when the rate of economic decline was greatest during the recent recession. Office space traded for $10.83 per sfn, down 8 per cent from $11.73 per sfn in January 2009.

Market Wire Thu Feb 18 2010

Unprecedented decline in Canadian office rents in 2009 – Cushman & Wakefield

The world’s leading centres have suffered an unprecedented fall in demand for office space which has contributed to the first aggregated global fall in prime office rents since 2003. Global real estate adviser Cushman & Wakefield, in its new Office Space Across the World report, says that 2009 recorded a steep and widespread fall in office demand with every region in the world recording falling prime rents for the first time.

Canada News Wire Wed Feb 24 2010

GTA commercial real estate investment activity falls to decade low – Avison Young

Commercial real estate investment activity strengthened in the second half of 2009, but totals for the year lagged behind 2008 numbers as uncertain market conditions created by the global economic downturn took their toll on both the value and quantity of transactions across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). These are some of the key trends noted in Avison Young’s Winter 2009-2010 Investment Review for the GTA.

Avison Young – Canada News Wire Wed Feb 24 2010

New Canadian Office REIT proposed by BPO Properties – BPO Properties – BPP-T

Brookfield Properties Corporation and its Canadian-based subsidiary BPO Properties Ltd. announced a proposal to create Canada’s pre-eminent office REIT. Upon conversion, the new REIT, to be named Brookfield Office Properties Canada, will acquire BPP’s directly owned office assets in Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver and will also acquire Brookfield Properties’ interest in Brookfield Place.

Market Watch Fri Feb 26 2010

H&R REIT Funds From Operations Up 16 Percent – H&R REIT

Canada’s H&R real estate investment trust posted fourth-quarter funds from operations that beat market estimates. The trust reported FFO — a key measure used by real estate companies — of C$54.5 million, or 37 Canadian cents per basic stapled unit, up from C$46.9 million, or 32 Canadian cents per basic stapled unit in the year-ago period.

Reuters Fri Feb 26 2010 – Canada News Wire

Is this the new Blackberry Slider?

By now most people know that the BlackBerry Slider is no longer a myth and is in fact a real device. The first images were a bit blurry and hard to make out. Now you can end the squinting and look at these new higher resolution images of the first ever full QWERTY keyboard slider BlackBerry. Full Story.

Google’s Office in Chicago

I really hope to do this for Google Toronto.  Maybe if I send them this post they will let me come in and see their facilities at Yonge and Dundas.  A real estate agent can hope can’t he?

New U.S. Embassy in London

Original Article

The United States Department of State announced today that KieranTimberlake has won the design competition for the New London Embassy. In statements given at a press briefing today in London, U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Louis B. Susman, and Acting Director of the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, Adam Namm, remarked, “KieranTimberlake’s design meets the goal of creating a modern, welcoming, timeless, safe and energy efficient embassy for the 21st century. Their concept most fully satisfied the requirements outlined in the design competition’s mission statement. The concept holds the greatest potential for developing a truly iconic embassy and is on the leading edge of sustainable design.”

View from Consular Plaza

Concept

• The concept for the New London Embassy is the result of KieranTimberlake’s efforts to resolve, in architectural terms, what an embassy aspires to be and what present realities dictate it must do.

• The expressive challenge is to give form to the core beliefs of our democracy – transparency, openness, and equality – and do so in a way that is both secure and welcoming. At the same time, the building must confront the environmental challenges all nations face with leading edge sustainable design.

• The team included OLIN as Landscape Architect; Arup for Sustainability, MEP/FP and Civil Engineering; Weidlinger Associates for Structural and Blast Engineering; Gensler for workplace design; Davis Langdon for Cost Consulting; and Sako & Associates for Technical Security.

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