This reliance on an approach that is “easy to calculate” got us wondering what are some of the proxies we use in commercial real estate that provide a quick synopsis of some aspect of the market, and do they suffer similar shortcomings as BMI does in being a proxy for state of health.
The good news for Ottawa is that it is the location of the head office for the Government of Canada. The associated constancy and the credit covenant of the federal government adds stability to the office market here. The federal government employs over 140,000 people in the Greater Ottawa area in a labour force of […]
Ottawa investment activity review for 2017: the big boys clean house What was notable with investment sales activity in Ottawa in 2017 is how a few transactions dominated the market. Four trades – Constitution Square, Minto Place, the Ciena lab and the DREAM Ottawa office portfolio sale – add up to about $1 billion in […]
Here in Ottawa the federal government dominates the office market. It employs roughly 140,000 people in a 700,000-person work force, its need for space is predominantly office, and in many ways drives innovation for the office market in terms of its standards for accommodations. Not surprisingly, private sector landlords pay close attention to federal government […]
Shopify announced in March 2017 that it will be expanding its Ottawa headquarters by leasing new accommodations at 234 Laurier Avenue West which will increase its size by 325,000 square feet and about 3,000 employees beginning this year. This is fantastic news for Shopify, the Ottawa tech ecosystem, and the Greater Ottawa area in general. […]
The thing that stood out for me at the Toronto Real Estate Forum this past December was when one of the panelists (Mark Wiseman from Blackrock and who formerly headed Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB)), said: “…. this is the least diverse audience I have ever seen….” There was no arguing this […]
I am reminded of an old Mork and Mindy episode. Robin Williams as Mork, the alien from Ork, has a policy of hiding in plain sight. He would leave his alien stuff hanging around the apartment that he shared with Mindy, played by Pam Dawber. Only the TV audience noticed the stuff that was plainly […]
Originally posted December 2015 I have been having an internal debate about what I am missing in the economics of leasehold improvements. I wonder if there is some magic in leasehold improvements I have failed to grasp that others have known for a long time. Is there some unaccounted for value in an office […]
Originally posted 29 October 2015 I always find it interesting to tour new buildings, whether office or industrial or retail facilities, as more than likely they are state of the art for all sorts of building systems, construction techniques and design considerations. The “new” days are glory days for a building – strong tenant […]
It seems that how tenants use office space is undergoing a dramatic change and this is having an effect on all parts of the design, construction and ongoing operations of office buildings. The term describing this is “intensification”. In this article, I will describe how some recent developments like 90 Elgin and 150 Elgin provide […]