Mozilla Canada – New Toronto Office Space #Video

Outside the box thinking for commercial real estate. Maybe that should be my new tag line…

Check out this video our team put together for the new Mozilla Offices! I love showing off the projects and clients I have worked with. This one in particular was a real group effort, a kick ass deal with an amazing client and amazing space.

What do you think – we would love your input!

EBS Construction – Michael Dragneai
InDeVision – Mette Keating
Colarossi – Mario Colarossi
Colliers International – Chris Fyvie

10 Reasons to lease an entirely serviced office

Neo Solar from Ben Lean on Vimeo.

What are your reasons for renting a serviced office? You might not be certain correct now, but a few of the subsequent to reasons might allure to you. These are 10 of the tip reasons many other companies have taken the step to lease an office entirely serviced.

1. The business is flourishing fast, and it no longer creates clarity to keep working out of a home or other trickery existing for free. Unfortunately, it is moreover as well shortly to execute to a long tenure let lease for an office space. The adjustable renting conditions of a serviced office is the best fit.

2. The business is relocating from one city, state or nation to another. Temporary office space is indispensable whilst explorations in to the new area are achieved and the preference to pierce in to that area is completely set in stone. It creates no clarity to pointer a long lease when the expect town of operations could potentially change as skeleton are ironed out.

3. The business is small, but needs access to costly apparatus to make sure every day operations run smoother. Many serviced offices enable businesses to share equipment, so any business does not have to buy it on their own.

4. The business is a new start-up, and space is indispensable but presumably not permanently. It is always dangerous starting up something brand new with paltry funding, so it usually creates clarity to keep the long tenure commitments as low as possible.

5. The business is established, tiny to intermediate in size, and not to the indicate of employing organizational and technical encouragement to the budget. Since a serviced office gives the business a few use of organizational support, the business can function uniformly without putting out an additional amount on employing that additional personnel.

6. The business is sepulchral suddenly fast, and the office space already rented will not grip all of the employees being hired. In this case, the firm will typically put the spill in to a serviced office space, just until they can obtain out of their stream undertaking and find a incomparable space to henceforth lease or purchase.

7. The business has already leased long tenure with a new office space, or has potentially purchased new space, but it is not ready at the time the lease on the aged space is up. In demand to keep business working and employees protected whilst the new space is put together, a proxy let is necessary.

8. The business is tiny or intermediate in size, but there is a need for additional office space for a since project. This might be something long tenure or partial term, but the space will not always be needed, so it creates no clarity to buy or lease long term.

9. The business is considerable and is exploring the choice of gap up a new section or department. Until the thought is entirely invested and ready to go completely, they might lease a serviced office space to residence that probable section or department. Eventually, that space will be scrapped with the division, or fused in to the company.

10. The business is just starting up and the owners are not entirely certain how to go about working an office space. They can use a serviced office as a learning experience.

All of these situations are temporary, but they moreover have an evident need that the serviced office space can fill. Do you pick out with any of these reasons? If so, it might be your time to take up residence in serviced space.

Signnow.com – The Evolution of the Real Estate Offer Online

I’m excited to try this out! Wonder who my first client will be to sign on their smartphone!
https://signnow.com

If you need to sign a legal document while away from your home or office you can use free webapp SignNow to upload a pdf of the document, sign the document electronically, and email it to wherever it needs to go, all without having to pay or register with SignNow. Lifehacker

Toronto’s iconic Flatiron Building is up for sale!

Original Article

The triangular five-storey red-brick building, with a trompe l’oeil mural on the side, went on the market Tuesday, with formal bids due on Oct. 27 to Brookfield Financial Real Estate Group, which is overseeing the sale.

“It’s the ideal time,” said Eve Lewis, president and CEO of Woodcliffe Landmark Properties, noting that for the first time in almost a century, no ongoing leases mean a single owner or tenant could occupy the entire office space, close to 20,000 square feet.

Only the bar Flatiron & Firkin remains with a lease until the end of 2015.

Sitting at an unusual corner where Front, Wellington and Church Sts. meet, the building has often been photographed with Toronto’s bank towers in the background.

Lewis recently took over the helm of Woodcliffe after her husband Paul Oberman, a heritage developer, died in a small plane crash in March in Maine. He was flying with another man in a four-seater plane when they ran into an ice storm.

Lewis is also president of MarketVision, a condo marketing firm.

Oberman specialized in developing heritage properties including renovating the old North Toronto train station, which now houses the Summerhill LCBO. He painstakingly worked on the Flatiron building, also known as the Gooderham building, which dates back to 1892.

“I think it has always had an incredible appeal because of its iconic nature, because of the history of the building, because of the uniqueness of it,” Lewis said. “The market is very good for real estate in Toronto, period. But for commercial, it’s really exceptional.”

But Lewis isn’t saying what the property is worth, arguing that traditional formulas calculating square footage don’t necessarily apply, given the uniqueness of the building, especially now that it’s been renovated.

“To tell you the truth, I guess we’ll find out on the 27th what its value is,” she said, adding it’s always gone for a premium. She said commercial lease rates are comparable to the “triple A” rates of the bank towers.

“I think it’s because people can create an identity in that building that you can’t if you’re just on one of the floors of one of the bank towers,” she said, adding companies want something that’s different.

According to property records, the building sold in 1999 for $2.2 million and again in 2005, when Woodcliffe purchased it for $10.1 million.

Built for George Gooderham, then president of the Bank of Toronto and owner of Gooderham and Worts distillery, it even included an underground tunnel to the bank.

It also houses a manually operated Otis elevator that is still staffed to this day, to move passengers up and down the floors.

The original staircase wraps around the elevator, with large windows offering unique views. Many heritage buildings in Toronto were knocked down in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, but though the Flatiron fell into disrepair over the years, it was also preserved and renovated, most recently by Oberman.

“Paul always wanted to preserve historic buildings. He found a way of making those buildings in itself profitable instead of ripping them down,” she said, citing an ongoing project on Market St., where four buildings are being saved, instead of a new condo building going up.

In August, architect Michael Taylor argued for Market St., on the west side of the St. Lawrence Market, to be renamed Oberman Way. An online petition was set up.

Lewis has taken the Woodcliffe job in part to continue Oberman’s legacy with the help of their six children, who range in age from 20 to 26. They are committed to finding beautiful buildings to restore.

“Life is busy. It’s challenging, but it’s also distracting, and that’s probably good,” she said. “Life is different, very different without Paul.”

Putting the Flatiron up for sale was a tough.

“Of course, it’s a difficult decision to make,” she said. “But I think it’s the right one.”

Great Companies Need Great Spaces. Trendhunter.com

Video is finally cheap enough to produce to go mainstream Internet. I’ve always thought video, not pictures, best show off a vacancy or clients office space. That got me to thinking, why not use video to help a client leverage their brand by showing off their office space and corporate culture at the same time. One of my clients thought it was a great idea too.

This video was produced by myself (@ChrisFyvie), Colliers Canada and Crucial Films for TrendHunter.com. Great companies, need great spaces.

Below is what I consider a relatively easy, cool and engaging way to deliver your brand identity to thousands of potential clients and staff.

Would you like to be featured on OfficeSearchToronto.com and ColliersCanada.com? Would you like a video like this produced featuring your companies culture and corporate brand? Do you have the coolest office space in Toronto and want to show it off!? Reach out and let’s discuss next steps.

Chris@officesearchtoronto.com
416-643-3713

Colliers Canada Thoughts:
Say goodbye to the corner office. Employers are shaking up office traditions, putting employees first as they consider where they’ll move next. Welcome your new neighbour – your boss, who is giving up their office, opting for collaboration over closed doors. More business leaders are considering the implications of where they’ll move next, understanding its impact on company culture and brand image.

Great companies need great spaces and tech brands aren’t the only companies wanting open-plan work environments. Stuffy workplaces are a thing of the past and companies are seeing the value in choosing office space that reflects their brand personality. Whether it’s a slide, a beer fridge, an abundance of white boards for brainstorming or foosball tables, brands are creating a second home for their staff, who often spend more time there than anywhere else.

Check out Trendhunter, a Toronto-based company and client of Colliers International and Toronto broker Chris Fyvie’s featuring founder and Chief Trend Hunter Jeremy Gutsche.

Random Office Stuff – Herman Miller Sayl, Apple Campus and the Battle for the Greenest Office Building

The Sayl Chair is Herman Miller’s minimalist masterpiece.

The Green Battle
The Taisun Tower
vs
The NEW World Trade Centre

Bonus – did you know that Google uses more power than Salt Lake City?

Mayhew – Alternative Work Space Solutions

Increasingly, more employees are wasting valuable time sitting in traffic instead of producing for their employers. A March 2010 article in the Toronto Star (thestar.com) mentions that only 29 per cent of Toronto area residents leave cars at home contributing to current Toronto traffic gridlock; estimates suggest over $5 billion is being lost in productivity. In light of this reality and a gradual change in the workforce, many companies are recognizing that office culture is quickly shifting as employees are asking for more flextime, better technology and alternative work strategies.

Companies are trying to figure out how to respond to these requests, questioning whether they are losing valuable employees because their office is too far away? Mayhew, a Thornhill based design and workspace solution provider, helps redesign and implement a flexible and functional space that provides convenient alternative work strategies to keep staff happy, productive and stress-free from commuting worries while they work. These strategies include collaborative technology environments, European inspired benching solutions for hoteling,  and health and wellness driven products like Walkstations. By having the right mix of collaborative space for group engagement and private spaces, companies can meet the changing demands of today’s multigenerational workforce.

Flexibility neutralizes the challenges of everyday commuters.

Work life balance is key for all generations, especially Milliennials that are coming into the work force in great numbers. According to the New Jersey Institute of Technology, Milliennials’ time, though flexible, is intentionally scheduled to increase their productivity so it isn’t lost on hassles like commuting through Toronto traffic. They expect today’s employers to be teachers and mentors in an adaptable, comfortable and technologically-rich environment that is ripe for team projects and multi-tasking.

To meet the goals of reducing stress related to commuting congestion and attract and retain Millienials, companies are considering more spacious and comfortable open office environments that establishes a flexible meeting space to spur creativity and communication. Technological upgrades and solutions, like Media:scape and Eno boards, products from Steelcase, lay the groundwork for productivity for training, meetings and more while supporting collaboration efforts throughout your work place. This can be achieved by involving management and staff in developing a space that they all feel proud to work in.

Companies are also encouraging co-working space options which permit their employees to work remotely where required; these environment are proliferating throughout the GTA, further reducing commuting requirements and contributing to a better carbon footprint which aligns with corporate sustainability objectives.

Taking steps like these to improve physical space not only supports company culture, but puts in place a stress-free, commuter-friendly work space that encourages employees to meet and exceed your company’s business goals and objectives.
You can attract and retain today’s youngest and most influential generation while neutralizing the headaches of the Toronto traffic commute with corporate work strategies that positively impact productivity.

Nicole Clancy
nclancy@mayhew.ca

Oxford’s Big Block Program

Oxford has just gone live with a new website called Oxford Big Blocks. It’s meant to be a “convenient and valuable tool for discussions with large users.”

I’m a little biased as I did some consulting on the site so I love the look and the feel. I also love the stacking plans and many of the videos. The question is, do big users go straight to the internet for vacancy and market information or do they go to their trusted advisor (broker)? In my opinion, you will always get more traffic from the smaller users as many do not have a relationship with a broker but we will see.

What do you think? Waste of money? Great initiative?

On a side note, check out the new designs for 100 Adelaide St W!!

Colliers International 2011 Statistics

A few many reasons I’m proud to be part of Colliers.

Small businesses and social media

Cool infographic by Douglas Karr

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