Steve Jobs’ office design philosophy

Posted on 10 February 2012 | No responses

The following is an excerpt from the Steve Jobs biography by Walter Isaacson. In it, Isaacson describes the emphasis Jobs placed on creating the most collaborative work environment possible for Pixar. Years later the same strategy and principles were employed for the design of the Apple headquarters at 1 Infinite Loop in Cupertino. One of Jobs’ last major decisions in his time at Apple was the architecture of the new Apple campus (shown below), which will be delivered in 2015.

Downtown Montreal’s Future Office Buildings (1 of 2)

Posted on 7 December 2011 | No responses

With the vacancy rate in downtown Montreal hovering around the 6% mark, a few notable tenants in the market with requirements larger than 200,000 square feet, and rental rates inching higher to levels that would justify new construction, there is a lot of media attention and industry speculation that the construction of a new downtown office tower will soon be announced. The question still remains as to where such a construction might take place, so let’s take a look at the options:

Altoria

Kevric, the developer behind the Altoria condo project at the corner of Beaver Hall and Viger, is actually the first developer out of the gate with new office space being delivered to downtown Montreal. The building however, is not a pure-play office building as Kevric has decided that its project will be a first of its kind in Montreal, a mixed use project featuring 10 floors of office space and 22 floors of residential condominiums. Demolition of the former structure is complete and the residential units are selling quickly but an office tenant has yet to be announced.

 

Place de la Cite Internationale Phase II

Located at the corner of Square-Victoria and Saint-Antoine, Westcliff’s proposed office tower could be the fastest out of the ground as the foundation for the tower is already in place, built when Westcliff constructed the ICAO headquarters building on University. This site can accomodate a tower of up to 500,000 square feet as well as a smaller, ‘boutique’ building immediately to the North of 140,000 square feet.

 

701 University

The land site at the corner of University and St-Jacques will benefit greatly from the redevelopment of the Bonaventure expressway currently underway. Once tenancies for 50% of the building area are signed, the office tower delivered could have an area of up to 750,000 square feet over 32 floors. The site is being conceived as a multiple tower site with a residential component on the east side of the site.

 

900 de Maisonneuve W.

Ivanhoe Cambridge, the real estate arm of the Caisse de Depot, owns the piece of land located at the corner of the de Maisonneuve Blvd W. and Mansfield. The future proposed office tower, planned at just under half a million square feet, will sit on an 11-storey above-ground parking structure thereby ensuring that the lower office floors will have views over the surrounding buildings.

 

(To be continued…)

How do subleases work in Commercial Real Estate? (2 of 2)

Posted on 16 November 2011 | No responses

From the Sub-Landlord’s perspective there is also a risk that the Sub-Tenant it leases to defaults on its obligations. Sub-Landlords should undertake a credit check on any prospective tenants and require a security deposit in accordance with the risk level associated with the tenant’s creditworthiness.

Once a deal to sublease is concluded between the Sub-Landlord and Sub-Tenant, the building’s landlord needs to consent to the deal. Since Quebec law dictates that the landlord cannot refuse consent unreasonably, the landlord will simply ensure that the Sub-Landlord remains jointly and severally responsible for its obligations set out in the lease and that the quality of sub-tenancy will not adversely affect the image of the building.

The office broker’s role in subleasing is crucial as their marketing generally provides access to a pool of tenants and their brokers in the market. They also provide data and analysis on expected recovery rates and lease-up time. In the best case scenario, an office broker with strong relationships with the building’s landlord can even help have the lease cancelled altogether instead of putting it on the market for sublease.

In conclusion, subleases represent tremendous opportunities for both Sub-Landlords looking to recapture a sunk cost and Sub-Tenants looking to benefit from a great deal. However, both sides should be aware of the risks inherent in these arrangements and should mitigate them to the best of their abilities.

How do subleases work in Commercial Real Estate? (1 of 2)

Posted on 11 November 2011 | No responses

Real estate needs for corporations are constantly evolving. Whereas a company may have once needed 20,000 square feet of office space to run its business, a technological shift, budgetary cut, outsourcing or a variety of other reasons, now enables that same company to operate in 10,000 square feet or even work remotely. That company is now left with redundant space that it is paying for until the end of its lease obligation. Since most leases are generally five or ten years long, the redundant space can cause some significant financial pain to that corporation. In order to mitigate losses the company decides to list their space on the market for sublease, which is generally accomplished with a commercial real estate broker as intermediary.

Tenants evaluating subleases are generally very attracted to them for two main reasons: First, subleases are frequently traded at a discount since most companies looking to sublease their premises view the cost as sunk and any recapture is viewed as a way to get it off their books, and second, improvements left behind by Sub-Landlords can result in significant cost savings for Sub-Tenants as they would have otherwise spent money on customizing a space to their needs. In some cases, the benefit to Sub-Tenants is even greater as they can afford a higher quality space they could not have leasing directly from the building’s landlord.

By the same token, tenants need to be aware of the risks associated with subleases, which account for their discounted prices. For example, the Sub-Landlord’s financial strength. Should the Sub-Landlord default on its rent obligation, the Sub-Tenant is then caught ‘holding the bag’ and will have the choice to either assume the Sub-Landlord’s original lease, its terms and conditions, or relocate.  Another negative associated with a sublease is that of a shorter term. Although Sub-Tenants may benefit from a great deal on the sublease, once the Sub-Landlord’s lease expires, the Sub-Tenant will have to negotiate with the building’s landlord at market rates, or relocate.

The flip side of Assassin’s Creed: What’s good for gamers is good for Montreal real estate

Posted on 11 May 2011 | No responses

Project Management case study: Morgan Stanley

Posted on 23 February 2011 | No responses

Morgan Stanley recently leased 45,000 sq. ft. in the Cite de Multimedia in Old Montreal for their IT support office, a facility that will house over 400 employees. Following the execution of the lease, MS needed a comprehensive and experienced project management services firm to convert the raw space into a functional office, and therefore selected Cushman & Wakefield as their service provider.

John Voulieris, director of project management in Quebec, led the interview process and was selected to manage the project personally. Morgan Stanley required a team leader who could manage over 20 of their internal resources (who all in turn were responsible for various project disciplines within Morgan Stanley – including but not limited to IT, Relocation, Construction, AV, and more), as well as an external team of over a dozen professionals and suppliers (Design, Architect, Engineering, General Contractor, etc).

Morgan Stanley required that the project be delivered on a fast track schedule, and through a competitive bid process managed to get all the required equipment in early for a quick start on site. This allowed the construction team to deliver the new state of the art server room in a record breaking 6 weeks, which in turn allowed the offices to open as per the original fast track schedule and as per the budget set out by C&W, without compromising the rigorous Morgan Stanley quality control standards.

The project is pending a LEED CI Gold certification, and was recognized as the only North American Morgan Stanley project where all 400 employees were up and running the day following the move with zero IT deficiencies.

Morgan Stanley is already looking to expand their current operations by an additional 20,000 SF and due to the success of the first phase has engaged Cushman & Wakefield Inc. Project Management to continue to lead the process.

John Voulieris is the Director of Project Management for Cushman & Wakefield Inc. in Quebec. He is currently managing the Morgan Stanley expansion as well as the commercial interior fit up for Warner Bros. Games in Montreal. He can be reached at  john.voulieris@ca.cushwake.com for any commercial or industrial renovation or construction needs.

Montreal’s next off-island hot spots (3 of 3)

Posted on 21 February 2011 | No responses

For the last part of our 3-part series, we discuss some up and coming suburban areas off the island of Montreal:

Vaudreuil-Dorion/Saint-Lazare

This small community of 30,000 to the west of Montreal is one of the fastest growing in Canada, having experienced 29.5% population growth from 2001 to 2006. The community shows no signs of slowing down as a recent announcement calls for a plan to have AMT train service to Vaudreuil every 12 minutes. Retail tenant demand has also driven large-scale construction by the Harden Group and Smart Centres.

Blainville/Boisbriand

From 1996 to 2006 Blainville experienced population growth of 57.1% driven by rising housing costs in Laval and Montreal. The primely located Faubourg Boisbriand has become a destination for national big box retailers looking to establish a presence on the north shore. This has also led to other developments along Autoroutes 15 and 640 such as Developpement Montoni’s build-to-suit buildings for Investor’s Group, Trevi, and Mazda.

Terrebonne/Lachenaie/Mascouche

Terrebonne is the 10th largest city in Quebec with a population of 94,000 having experienced population growth of 17.6% from 2001 to 2006. Most of the concentration in the area is centered around the AMT’s train station and the Pierre Le Gardeur Hospital. Smart Centres, Rio-Can, Brookline and many others have all capitalized on the area’s growth by developing shopping centers and a few office buildings at the early stages of the area’s growth.

Montreal’s Next Hot Spots (2 of 3)

Posted on 10 February 2011 | No responses

In this second edition of our 3-part series we look at a few more up and coming sectors to keep an eye on:

Mile-End

Ubisoft’s headquarters at the corner of St-Laurent and St-Viateur has played an integral part in the revitalization of the office market in the Mile-End area. Buildings such as 5605 and 5455 de Gaspe, 400 Atlantic, 6300 Parc and 5800 St-Denis have all recently experienced a high velocity of leasing deals however, the building’s large areas make it difficult to lower overall vacancy rates and therefore cheap deals remain abundant.

Chabanel

The street that has forever been synonymous with the garment industry is experiencing a revival. Thanks to a $20 million investment by the City of Montreal, the planned addition of a new train station, it’s still comparatively low rents and the emergence of Groupe Dayan and Canada’s Public Sector Pension Fund as the area’s newest and largest landlords, the center of Montreal is getting the TLC it needs to reshape it’s image as a design and back-office hub and has thus far, been successful in attracting quality tenants.

Montreal’s next hot spots (1 of 3)

Posted on 8 February 2011 | No responses

One of the great thrills one gets from working in commercial real estate is the sense that you are helping to build something over the long-term. A single real estate transaction can sometimes create such value that it can help transform an entire area. Being at the forefront of tenant demand gives us the unique privilege of sensing what areas in Montreal are poised for resurgence.

Tenants with a keen eye have taken advantage of areas that have not yet peaked in terms of ‘coolness’ by locking in low before rents escalate to meet demand. In this three-part series we will highlight areas to watch out for in the coming years:

Griffintown

One of the most talked about areas in our city seems to finally be on its way to becoming a reality. Between Devimco’s District Griffin project, Prevel’s Lowney and Bassin projects, and the Gallery Sur Le Canal project, over 2000 residential units will be delivered in the area by 2012. However, the area does not currently have enough existing office inventory to meet the demand that exists and that which will follow.

Quartier Des Spectacles

The city’s favorite pet project has seen the light of day thanks to a $120 million government investment and residential developments such as the Louis Boheme, Lofts Des Arts and Le Concorde. The office vacancy in the area is already extremely low and so an office development on the vacant land at the corner of Bleury and Ste-Catherine would be a welcome feature to complete the neighborhood’s transformation.

Microsoft joins trend and opens Xbox Kinect ‘Pop-Store’ in Les Ailes

Posted on 28 October 2010 | No responses

In late August, Cushman & Wakefield was mandated by Microsoft to source high-traffic locations in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver to open ‘pop-up shops’ to launch their new Xbox Kinect device-an interactive gaming console where the human body is the controller.

Pop-up retail is the growing trend of opening short-term sales space in high-traffic locations. Pop-up retail is specifically an idea or mindset that allows a company to create a unique environment that engages their customers, as well as generates a feeling of relevance and interactivity. It can also be for the duration of a peak in demand anticipated to be short. The trend involves “popping-up” one day, and disappearing the next. These stores, while small and temporary, can build up buzz by consumer exposure.

We presented solutions to Microsoft including high-street locations on Ste-Catherine as well as indoor locations in the downtown malls. The ultimate decision was a location next to Forever 21 at the busy metro level of Les Ailes de la Mode for a two-month period from October 1st to November 30th. Traffic has been very heavy and buzz for the console is through the roof.

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