Month: June 2013
Should You Buy New Office Furniture During a Corporate Move?
During a corporate relocation, you will inevitably ask the question: should you buy new office furniture? Many companies undergoing a corporate relocation will choose to purchase entirely new systems office furniture, while others will hang on to as many pieces as possible. Which decision is right for your company? Here are a couple arguments for and against purchasing new office furniture during an office move.
Keeping the old…
- Cost Savings
What do you hate most about the office furniture you have? Will it simply not work in the new space or are you just searching for a new look and feel? It can sometimes be more cost effective to renew instead of replace those worn out or squeaky chairs. If certain pieces can still be freshened up by having them reupholstered and refinished, you get the best of both worlds while saving money along the process.
- You can get LEED points by repairing your furniture
LEED certification gives credits for waste management, recycled content, and materials reuse. You can also get additional credit if you use pieces with lower VOC emissions. If you’re serious about getting LEED-certified—and it’s long been proven that having LEED certification is good for business—then you might want to hold on to your furniture during your corporate relocation.
Bring in the new…
- Ergonomics
If the office chairs have seen their years and simply aren’t good for the spine or resting of the arms, etc., then you’re putting the productivity of your employees and, ultimately, the profitability of your company at stake. Invest in your employees’ health by buying new office furniture while also investing in your company’s net worth.
- You need a new look now
If you’re moving into a new office with bold colors and a chic design, your old, dated furniture might ruin the entire look you’re going for. If you need a new look and do not have the time to refurbish, or if no amount of work will hide the old-fashioned bones of the furniture, new and contemporary furniture might be exactly what you need to complete the look of your new office.
GTA vs. Downtown: The Better Choice for Your Office Space Relocation
Planning to move into a new office space in either Downtown Toronto or the outskirts of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA)?
Moving into either location is a crucial decision that will not only affect your pool of customers or the clients that you will attract, but also the employees that will be working for you. In recent years, several developments have taken place that you should factor in when weighing your decision.
Toronto Downtown
According to a recent report by TD Bank, Toronto downtown’s population has more than tripled in the last five years. Echo Boomers, those who were born between 1972 and 1992, are largely responsible for this. The Echo Boomers comprise the new young generation—aspiring, energetic, and highly educated. If you are looking for a labor pool with talented and skilled people, downtown seems like an easy answer.
But take note: this will not necessarily be the trend in the next decade or so. After all, the Echo Boomers are a product of their parents who chose to leave downtown back in the 70s to buy homes in the suburbs. It’s too early to say that the Echo Boomers will stay once they hit late adulthood or old age.
Toronto downtown is quickly turning into a world-class city, and the development in its infrastructure, public facilities, and other services has never been this fast.
Greater Toronto Area
While Toronto Downtown is on its way to establishing its status as a booming industrial location, GTA has well established itself as such. Currently, it holds over 200 million square feet of office space—much more office space than Toronto Downtown, although of course most of this has already been filled by offices.
The population in GTA is much larger and more diverse. It is growing by more than one million each decade, and promises more jobs in the next few years as office development is one of the major thrusts of the area.
If there’s any problem, perhaps it is the public transportation system. Employees have been grumbling about poor transportation and twisted highways.
Verdict
Either area has its highlights. If you want a more stable area that will more or less retain its demographics in the next few years, GTA seems like the smarter choice. But you shouldn’t dismiss the clear advantage of Toronto Downtown. Big companies like Google Inc and Coca-cola are relocating offices into the area for a reason, and the brightest young minds are moving into the area. Can you afford to stay away from the place everyone is clearly talking about?
New Corporate Office Developments in Toronto
Last November 2012, Google unveiled its new global headquarters in Canada— 89,000-sq.ft. space on Richmond St. The opening of its huge new office building for its more than 400 employees (or Googlers, as the firm would call them) helps to prove that Toronto is one of the busiest and most exciting places to live and work.
Coca-Cola, another mammoth brand, opened its Canadian headquarters in downtown Toronto last April on King St. E., atop the same building as the Toronto Sun. Before this, Coke Canada’s offices were located in Thorncliffe Park for the past 50 years.
Of the many companies setting up their office in Toronto, one of the most talked about is Twitter Inc. Recent news revealed that the San Francisco-based networking site is planning to open Twitter Canada and has in fact named its first employee: managing director Kirstine Stewart. Other career positions have also opened up, like account executive and account manager. It’s not surprising that Twitter Inc chose Toronto, where highly educated “Echo Boomers”, those between the ages of 20 to 39, are moving in to build their careers.
Another talked about office development is a 17-storey office tower at the east end of 351 King East. To be named the King East Centre, the building is a 500,000 sq. ft. office space that will have its first occupancy sometime in 2016. This is in addition to one of the latest office developments to break ground in One York Street last January: the One York. It will be 35 storeys high, and will have a total of 794,358 square feet of space.
For both office towers in the works, lead tenant status is still available—although office spaces are quickly being leased out to companies who want to be at the center of the accelerated urban growth in Toronto.
If your company is planning on moving to one of the many new office towers currently under construction in downtown Toronto, your first step should be to contact a reputable and talented corporate real estate agent. If you need assistance with finding a Toronto corporate real estate agent, we will be happy to recommend one to suit your needs. If you already have the agent that you feel confident with, your next step should be to secure a corporate relocation and renovation specialist to help you in every aspect of your move. Again, call us! We are here to help.
Corporate Space Planning & Relocation Advice 