Commercial Design
April 2024 New & Used Office Furniture Sale
Check our our April 2024 New & Used Office Furniture Sale. Click Here
JUST IN TIME FOR SPRING!
Don’t miss out on this fantastic sale. Contact us today (416) 917-5389!
[email protected]
Contact Us to Learn More (416) 239-1931
D.J. McGauley & Associates Inc. is your Office Space Planning, Renovations and Relocation Project Management Company of choice. Please contact us to arrange a no-obligation site meeting. By the end of that meeting, you will know all that would be required to make your project a successful reality.
Money Saving Tips for Your Office Renovations
7 MONEY SAVING TIPS
By following these tips, you can save money on your office renovations and get the most out of your budget. With a little bit of research and planning, you can create a beautiful and functional office space.
- Shop around for the best prices: Compare the prices of different contractors, materials, and furniture to ensure you are getting the best deals. A good rule of thumb is to get at least three quotes from three different contractors. Be sure to consider the quality of service and response time in getting the quote, reputation of the vendor, references and any warranties or guarantees offered. Once you have narrowed down your options, you can decide.
- Reuse office furniture: Instead of purchasing all new office furniture, consider reusing existing furniture, purchasing used furniture or a mixture of all three. This will save money.
- Choose energy-efficient fixtures: Investing in energy-efficient light fixtures, insulation, and heating/cooling systems can save you money overall.
- Look for discounts: Take advantage of discounts when you buy bulk items, such as paint and carpeting.
- Negotiate: Do not be afraid to negotiate with contractors and/or suppliers to get the best possible prices. If prices are too high for your wallet, work with your contactor/supplier to ensure you get the best value, most contactors/suppliers would welcome the opportunity for your business.
- Hire an experienced office designer: Hiring an office designer can save money on office renovations by utilizing affordable materials, researching cost-effective furniture, and considering refurbishing existing furniture or fixtures. They can also investigate used furniture or fixtures, negotiate with vendors for discounts, and shop around for the best deals. Additionally, they can investigate using space-saving solutions, such as multi-functional furniture, to make better use a smaller space. Lastly, utilizing natural light, rather than artificial lighting, can also help save money.
- Find an experienced IT/network specialist: Working with an IT specialist to streamline your technology may be a smart investment. By hiring a professional to evaluate your current tech setup, you can save money on unnecessary purchases and upgrades. Not only can a specialist help you to identify which pieces of technology you need to keep up with modern trends and demands, they can also provide advice on the most cost-effective solutions. With the right specialist on board, you can be sure that you are getting the most bang for your buck. Investing in a computer specialist now may just be the ticket to saving on office renovations .
D.J. McGauley & Associates Inc. provides a range of services to help businesses and help you save money. Our project management team oversees all your renovation needs, from design to permitting, tendering and construction management, professional IT services, storage and furniture sourcing. Whether you are doing a small renovation or a complete build-out, our experienced team will collaborate with you, other staff, building management, and various trades to ensure your project runs smoothly.
Let us make your workspace vision come to life by creating the exact look and feel you want, while keeping you on time and on budget. We are proud to have been helping businesses since 1992 and have received glowing testimonials from satisfied clients.
Visit our website, https://www.djmcgauleyandassociates.com/, email [email protected] or contact us at 416-239-1931 to learn more.
September New & Used Office Furniture Sale
Check out our September 2023 Summer New & Used Office Furniture Sale. Click Here
Contact Us to Learn More (416) 239-1931
D.J. McGauley & Associates Inc. is your Office Space Planning, Renovations and Relocation Project Management Company of choice. Please contact us to arrange a no-obligation site meeting. By the end of that meeting, you will know all that would be required to make your project a successful reality.
Michael McGauley
DJ McGauley & Associates Inc.
Office 416-239-1931
Mobile 416-917-5389
August New & Used Office Furniture Sale
Check our our August 2023 Summer New & Used Office Furniture Sale. Click Here
Contact Us to Learn More (416) 239-1931
D.J. McGauley & Associates Inc. is your Office Space Planning, Renovations and Relocation Project Management Company of choice. Please contact us to arrange a no-obligation site meeting. By the end of that meeting, you will know all that would be required to make your project a successful reality.
Michael McGauley
DJ McGauley & Associates Inc.
Office 416-239-1931
Mobile 416-917-5389
Happy New Year 2020!
Work is an integral part of our life and a good source of happiness; that’s why we wish you personal growth and career advancement, moral satisfaction, warm trustful relationships and wealth in the coming year. Happy New Year!
D.J. McGauley & Associates Inc. is your Office Space Planning, Renovations and Relocation Project Management Company of Choice for the Toronto, GTA and surrounding areas. If a renovation or relocation of your 2,000 – 25,000 sq.ft. office space is in your plans, contact us to arrange a no-obligation site meeting. We guarantee that by the end of that meeting, you will know all that would be required to make your office renovation/relocation project a successful reality.
Call 416-239-1931, email [email protected] or visit our website for more information and to complete our contact form.
5 Common Mistakes Companies Make When Designing Their Offices
Planning for the correct amount of storage
Understand what you are storing, why you are storing it and make sure it’s not just a catch all place for all the indecisions your staff make. Storage is too often used to conceal clutter. Effective storage creates efficiencies while creating an environment that is both esthetically appealing and practical. Different storage solutions can provide time saving functionality that boosts productivity and frees up space for other office uses.
Getting employee input
The right office design will help make your business run better.
Involve employees in deciding how the space will look and feel. Employees often have insights into what an operation needs and may have that wasn’t obvious before but may prove valuable. Their involvement in decision-making gives them a voice in something meaningful which increases engagement and improves performance.
Talk to your employees and ask how the old space has worked. Which features have been good or bad, and why do they feel that way? Don’t assume the old layout is necessarily the best to help drive business. Also consider letting employees name common areas such as conference rooms. That way, they can put their stamp on the space.
If you have the time and resources, consider setting up some common work areas, each decorated in one of the color schemes most popular among employees. They can then try the different settings to see how they feel about them.
Besides giving employees a voice in the new office’s aesthetics, encourage them to discuss practicalities, too. Ask for a wish list of items for the new space, such as a coffee bar or certain type of storage, which could help make work a better place to be.
Plan for growth
It’s hard to know the future. Often, we are planning to grow, but just how much, how many more staff and what’s the time frame.
When you’re designing your office with growth in mind, it’s important to look at ways in which space can be reconfigured to accommodate differing team sizes.
It’s crucial to incorporate adaptable, flexible spaces into your present office design. These spaces can be used for ad-hoc meetings or general relaxation areas for existing staff but can also be re purposed as more formal workspace when necessary or for events and presentations.
Think carefully about your office furniture too. Once you have invested all your money in your latest technology or spent a fortune on the best talent, it might be tempting to skimp on the furniture budget.
Not enough open and/or private spaces
One of the most significant decisions in developing a company’s culture relates to the division of office space. Open space, division into offices, team-based division, mixed offices, a small or a big kitchen – each one of these decisions will affect the way the company functions.
In theory, an open space office sounds like a great idea – an open atmosphere, accessibility for everyone and, of course, an optimal utilization of space. Most open spaces are usually quite noisy and are not that conducive to actual discussions. Many people are easily distracted by every phone call, joke or noise around them.
Acoustics
New open concept designs are often filled with hard surfaces like polished concrete, open ceilings and lots of glass, that give a wonderful open feeling to spaces. But there is downside – increased noise levels.
When noise enters the workspace, creativity and productivity go out the window. That’s why manufactures of office furniture have thrown themselves into designing elements that limit and absorb excessive noise, creating pleasant workspaces that improve performance. The trend for open-plan designs, particularly in new workspaces, has put sound at the forefront of design.
Another way of combating noise in new open-plan workspaces is by incorporating dividing elements which provide privacy and encourage concentration. There are different wall panels which offer solutions that provide contemporary designs with the possibility of personalization, as well as improving acoustics. From acoustical wall treatments to innovative furniture options there are many innovative solutions to improving the sound levels in any office environment.
D.J. McGauley & Associates Inc. is your Office Space Planning, Renovations and Relocation Project Management Company of Choice for the Toronto, GTA and surrounding areas. If a renovation or relocation of your 2,000 – 25,000 sq.ft. office space is in your plans, contact us to arrange a no-obligation site meeting. We guarantee that by the end of that meeting, you will know all that would be required to make your office renovation/relocation project a successful reality.
Call 416-239-1931, email [email protected] or visit our website for more information and to complete our contact form.
D.J. McGauley & Associates’ Newly Redesigned Website
So What’s New?
Our new website has a clean uncluttered design, improved functionality and enhanced content.
Highlights include:
We welcome your feedback and would love to hear from you. Call 416-239-1931 or email [email protected]
• Please note we also offer short term and long term, secured storage solutions. Whether you are short of space or need to remove content temporarily during construction we have secure, temperature controlled storage solutions at competitive rates.
• Ask us about a new or used furniture solution. We have access to a wide range of suppliers for every budget range.
Going Green – Striving for Commercial Building Sustainability
“Going green” has been a buzz phrase since the late 1970’s. For some, “Going green” meant the old adage “reduce, reuse, recycle”. By the turn of the 21st century, there became a growing interest in using renewable energy (i.e. Solar, wind, natural gas, etc). However, from a developer’s perspective, “going green” has become an aggressive goal to increase sustainability of their structures before, during and after construction without undermining the integrity or stability of the surrounding natural resources or ecology.
Making “Every Building Greener” is the vision and heartbeat of the Canada Green Building Council, the Canadian issuers of the internationally recognized Leaders in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Certification. Some of the strategies they encourage commercial developers to employ include the following:
During the design & construction phase, “Going Green” would include strategies such as
incorporating greenhouse or garden roofs to help reduce carbon emissions, and restoring or creating gardens around the parameter of the building
large windows for light emission at the design stage
recycling of building materials during the construction stage in order to minimize the exhausting of natural resources to create building materials and reduce “waste” materials going into landfills
the use of renewable energy resources such as Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) cells along the outside of the building to capture solar energy to offset the use of main stream electricity
During the interior design and construction stage, “Going Green” strategies could include
constructing the interior layout to maximize natural light emission throughout each floor
utilizing energy efficient light bulbs and light sensors to automatically dim or brighten lights based on the amount of natural light coming into the building
utilizing high thermal mass insulation in ceilings and walls to help minimize the energy used for heating and cooling
installing water-saving toilets
installing living walls or indoor garden areas to control carbon dioxide emissions and improve air quality
For Building Operations & Maintenance, “Going Green” strategies would include
keeping the building clean
ensuring comfortable temperature for tenants
encouraging the “reduce, reuse, recycle” programs by providing clearly marked containers throughout the building for waste and recyclable materials
ensuring all replacement materials are either energy efficient, or made from recycled materials
Besides being environmentally responsible, developers that have made it a priority to “go green” have seen their utility costs go down. One company estimates that its water and energy reductions alone have saved $40 million. Outside of the savings, these companies have attracted top quality tenants and employees, and thus have seen their vacancy rates decrease. If that is not an incentive enough to consider “going green”, then I don’t know what is.
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DJ Mcgauley and Associates Inc. is your Office Space Planning, Renovations and Relocation Project Management Company of choice. If a renovation or relocation of your office space is in your plans, please contact us to arrange a no-obligation site meeting. By the end of that meeting, you will know all that would be required to make your office renovation/relocation project a successful reality.
Ask us about our asset management services!
Call 416-239-1931, email [email protected] or visit our website for more information and to complete our contact form.
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References:
Wikipedia, “Sustainable Development”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_development
Canada Green Building Council, Greater Toronto Chapter, “Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) Industry Development Initiative”, http://www.cagbctoronto.org/initiatives/building-integrated-photovoltaic-bipv-industry-development-initiative
Wilcox, D., Property Biz Canada, “CF Trumpets Global Leadership in Corporate Responsibility Report”, April 4, 2017, https://renx.ca/cadillac-fairview-trumpets-global-leadership/
Wikipedia, “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leadership_in_Energy_and_Environmental_Design
Key Words: Going Green, Energy , building
Tags: LEED, Canada Green Building Council, Facility Maintenance, Sustainability, Commercial Building, construction
Could Leasing Office Space in a LEED-CERTIFIED and/or BOMA BESt building be better for your bottom line?
Protecting the environment and “Going Green” have been ongoing fads, particularly within the last decade. Some companies have made it their mission to be environmentally responsible and publicize this intent in order to appeal to current and potential clients that share the same enthusiasm of going green. Government programs like Ontario’s Feed-in Tariff (FIT) program were even established to incentivize the increased use of renewable energy sources (solar, wind, waterpower, biomass, etc.) for home owners, building owners, and businesses in general aiming to use renewable energy sources to power their operations while tying into the grid…the results of which are apparently paying off. But what about organizations that lease office space? Will leasing office space in a building that is LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and/or BOMA BESt (Building Owners and Managers Association Building Environment Standards) certified be better for you, the lessee’s (i.e. tenant’s), bottom line?
Well, a recent investigation reveals that tenants of LEED-CERTIFIED buildings can experience – at least indirectly– some positive effects towards their bottom line in three areas:
Productivity – LEED-CERTIFIED office buildings are generally designed to have larger windows, more open spaces, and significantly better air quality compared to non-certified buildings. For the tenant, this translates to increased comfort, increased brain (innovative and creative) activity, a happier environment and better working spaces for employees, which in turn translates into increased productivity. Ch-Ching!
Marketability & Image Reinforcement – Tenants that market themselves as being socially responsible to the environment would only strengthen their position by being in an LEED-CERTIFIED building. When clientele visiting the office sees that the building they are entering is LEED-CERTIFIED, it will send a subconscious message to their brain that your company is likely to be trustworthy because it is consistent with the image set forth in its marketing strategy, “one that stands by what it says and believes”. More trust means ease in closing of sales leading to potentially more business with existing clients, or referrals leading to growth with new clients. Ch-Ching!
Costs – I would be remiss if I did not address costs. LEED-CERTIFIED office buildings save millions of dollars in energy consumption on an annual basis. For tenants, this could translate into lower utility costs per square foot if utilities are somehow treated separately from the actual lease rates within a lease agreement. As for the lease rates themselves, recent studies have shown that lease rates for office spaces in LEED-certified buildings are currently higher than in similar non-certified buildings simply because their unique sustainability increases the overall market value of the building. However, demand for more green-friendly or sustainable commercial properties means that LEED-CERTIFIED and BOMA BESt certified buildings will eventually become the standard for all commercial office buildings, thus the competition to attract and retain the best tenants may result in lease rates eventually declining.
Leasing an office space that is LEED-CERTIFIED and/or BOMA BESt certified has its benefits. Whether direct or indirect, large or small, even a tenant’s bottom line can experience a positive impact on its bottom line when leasing in an LEED-CERTIFIED building.
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DJ Mcgauley and Associates Inc. is your Office Space Planning, Renovations and Relocation Project Management Company of choice. If a renovation or relocation of your office space is in your plans, please contact us to arrange a no-obligation site meeting. By the end of that meeting, you will know all that would be required to make your office renovation/relocation project a successful reality.
Call 416-239-1931, email [email protected] or visit our website for more information and to complete our contact form
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References:
IESO, Ontario Power Authority, FIT Program, http://fit.powerauthority.on.ca/fit-program
Fergusen, Robert, Multibriefs Exclusive Content, Benefits of LEED certification for Business Headquarters, http://www.multibriefs.com/briefs/exclusive/benefits_of_LEED_certification.htm
Clark, John, Property Biz Canada, August 11, 2016, How Many Red Buildings Do You Have in your Portfolio?, http://renx.ca/many-red-buildings-portfolio/
Bentall Kennedy News and Media, October 6, 2015, Ground-breaking research finds that green office buildings deliver higher income and value, http://www.bentallkennedy.com/news-2015-10-06.php
Conventional Broadband or Fibre Optic? That is the Question…
There are many factors to consider when choosing an office space. The most obvious include location and accessibility to public transit, highways or the airport; square footage of the office space; the layout of the office space and its conduciveness to a company’s business needs—just to name a few. However, with more and more businesses utilizing the internet and telecommunications for social media marketing, video conferencing and other day to day online business activities, another factor companies should be taken into consideration when considering a new office space is the location’s communications infrastructure—more specifically, whether the infrastructure is conventional broadband or fibre optic.
The bottomline differences between conventional broadband and fibre optic are in the cost, safety and resulting productivity. Businesses that are heavily dependent on telecommunications and internet usage would want their office space to be wired throughout with fibre optic cabling because of its higher transmitting or carrying capacity (1G vs 200Mb – literally five times faster than conventional broadband), signal reliability (i.e. less signal interference or degradation compared to that of conventional broadband due to dedicated fibre optic strands per signal or data transmission), and it is less of a fire hazard than that of conventional copper-wired broadband. These features translate into lower operational costs in the long term and higher revenues due to more captures (or less missed) of business opportunities.
Of course, companies should not feel at a disadvantage if the office space being considered has a conventional broadband infrastructure. High speed and relatively high carrying capacities are still available with a conventional broadband infrastructure which could still prove sufficient depending on a business’ operational demands. Besides, conventional broadband infrastructures are more readily available in most locations than would be the fibre optic infrastructure, though that could change in the near future.
So, if your company is in the market for a new office space, ask the real estate representative or landlord about the location’s communication infracture. The response, whether fibre optic or conventional broadband, could help determine the competitive edge your company could have in the marketplace.
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DJ Mcgauley and Associates Inc. is your Office Space Planning, Renovations and Relocation Project Management Company of choice. If a renovation or relocation of your office space is in your plans, please contact us to arrange a no-obligation site meeting. By the end of that meeting, you will know all that would be required to make your office renovation/relocation project a successful reality.
Call 416-239-1931, email [email protected] or visit our website for more information and to complete our contact form.
References:
McLean, Steve, Property Biz Canada, june 29, 2016, “Fibre Optic Should Be A factor in Choosing offices” http://renx.ca/fibre-optic-factor-choosing-offices/
Freudenrich, Craig, TECH, Advantages of Fiber Optics, http://computer.howstuffworks.com/fiber-optic4.htm
Braithwaite, Matilda, Broadband Choice, Cable vs Fiber Optic Broadband: What’s th difference?, https://www.broadbandchoices.co.uk/ask-our-expert/cable-vs-fibre
Corporate Space Planning & Relocation Advice 