Will One of Blackberry’s Commercial Properties Be the Site of Your Next Corporate Expansion?
Considering moving your business to a new commercial facility? Well, if you had your sights on the Mississauga, Waterloo or Ottawa regions, one of Blackberry’s commercial properties might just be right for your business.
Last week, Blackberry announced that it is planning to sell off their 19 Canadian commercial properties totalling over 3-million square feet of commercial space. What does that mean for other Canadian businesses?
Well it may change competition in the marketplace as businesses, both domestic and foreign, will now have the opportunity to increase their presence in the Canadian market place.
Companies that , at one time or other, wanted to move into the Waterloo, Mississauga or Ottawa commercial properties that Blackberry originally purchased will now have their chance to claim those properties for their own corporate expansions.
But who is going to jump at the chance? Will other educational institutions follow the example of the University of Waterloo, which bought four of the 19 commercial properties to expand their campus? Will property management companies purchase the buildings and lease the space out to small or medium-sized companies. Will other Canadian companies band together to purchase these commercial properties? Will foreign investors jump at the chance to own some of the property holdings?
Regardless of the mix of potential buyers, one thing is certain – Blackberry remains committed to maintaining its Canadian presence.
Though Blackberry is selling off their commercial properties, the company plans to lease back some of the space needed for their corporate operations. They are already leasing back space in two of the buildings that the University of Waterloo has purchased.
CBRE is handling the sale and leasing of the properties. Transactions are expected to happen between now and the spring 2014.
So, with all this in mind, I ask: Looking for a new location to expand your business?
6 Ways To Protect Your Business Before Disaster Strikes
Financial expertise may not be the scope of our business, but with the hit of severe ice storms, like the one that hit Toronto and its surrounding areas in December 2013, and heavy rains that caused flooding just five months earlier in the same city, we have seen businesses take a hit to their profits as a result of extended periods of lost power, damages to their commercial properties, and damages to their equipment and building’s infrastructure. While profits are being spent on mending the damages, extreme weather conditions may be lurking around the corner just waiting to create more problems.
So what can businesses do to protect their property and thus protect their profits in the event of impending disasters? Here is a tip or two to consider:
Tip #1 – Get access to a backup generator. Whether your organization chooses to purchase a generator or purchase space from the landlord’s existing generator, having access to a backup generator allows your company to remain in operation if the main electrical system fails.
Tip #2 – Ensure all computer files are backed-up daily on a tested online or offline back-up system. Some companies may already have a backup system, but amazingly enough, not all of those backup systems are tested and many fail in the event of an emergency or disaster. Whether you choose an online or offline back-up system, take a moment to confirm your files have been backed up and are easily retrievable. If your server goes down, a tried and true back-up system, such as a tape drive or using data striping on multiple hard drives, will help your company quickly retrieve files and resume regular business activities once the server is back online, thus saving time and money.
Tip #3 – Make sure your servers are placed in a rack that is bolted to the wall and elevated a minimum of seven and a half centimetres off the floor. This would protect your server from damages in the event of a flood.
Tip #4 – Install sensors in ceilings and floors that will send off an alarm if excess moisture is building up on your pipes. Also office appliances such as coffeemakers should contain sensors that will trigger the “off” mechanism if an overflow begins. All this would prevent moisture damage to floors, ceilings and walls.
Tip #5 – Make sure you and your staff are aware of emergency exits and procedures. Plan your exit strategies and have fire drills so everyone becomes familiar with the actions they should take during any emergency. Your most valuable assets are your staff. Take care of them and they will take care of your business.
Tip #6 – Make sure all emergency equipment is regularly checked and up to date. This includes alarms, detectors, fire extinguishers, and first aid kits. Having these up to par will go further in protecting all your profit- generating assets.
Following any or all of these tips will certainly limit the negative effects any disaster could otherwise have on your business.
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What Not To Forget When Moving Offices – “Redirection of Mail”
The end of the year is in sight! With year-end comes the urgency to tie up loose ends, boost sales, and finalizing business deals. Year-end is also a prime time for implementing organizational changes for the coming year such as changes in staff or moving to a new office location. Top that with the hustle and bustle of the holiday season and you have the perfect platform for missing some essential details, especially when it comes to moving offices from one location to another. In fact, in our 20+ years of experience of helping companies relocate, we have found that 8 out of 10 companies make the same common errors when relocating to a new office.
Want to know one of them? Here it is:
- Failure to arrange the redirection of mail with the post office
Surprised? Don’t be. Companies can easily negate arranging the redirection of mail because they may have internal systems in place to inform their database of current stakeholders of any changes they make with the company. As well, the rise in the use of social media for businesses may appear to slowly negate the need to address the redirection of mail with the postal company.
So why is arranging the redirection of mail with the postal service so important? Here are a few reasons:
- It covers all bases. Even if your company can inform its entire CRM database of your company’s new address, utilizing the postal company’s redirection of mail service both emphasises the change and can catch any drippings of important mail from those patrons who may not be on the CRM list or who may correspond with your organization once or twice in the year.
- It’s a time-saver. With all the other intricate details involved in moving offices and running your regular business operations, contacting your postal service and taking advantage of their redirection of mail or mail forwarding service is one way to take care of a very important job in less than five minutes, especially since those arrangements can now be made online. In addition, the postal service can continue ensuring your mail is forwarded to the correct address for weeks, months or even a full year, so you won’t have to worry about it.
- It can be cost-effective. Postal services, like Canada post for example, may charge a small fee for taking care of the redirection of mail, but compare that to the cost of having a staff member take time out of their regularly scheduled activities to consolidate a list, prepare a “change of address” announcement and managing the sending of that message to your contacts, paying the postal service may be the cheaper route to go.
So if your company is planning to start the upcoming year in a new office location, remember to contact your post office and take advantage of their redirection of mail service.
T’was the week before moving day…
(The following poem is dedicated to all the businesses that are planning to relocate to a new office space in and around the holiday season.)
T’was the week before moving day
And all through the office
Everybody was scurrying
Including the bosses
There were lots to be done
To move from old place to new
But where to start
Nobody knew
So they called in a specialist
To address their quandary
Who would help them get ready
On time, budget and with little worry
“To ensure your move goes without any stress
There are 12 things that you need to address
Twelve tasks that are commonly forgotten
When companies choose to move to a new location
First, at the new space, identify
Where cable and electrical outlets lie
Then clearly define what will go where
Based on actual furniture and items that will move there
The next two tasks involve telling third parties
Of your new address and the date you will occupy it
Inform your postal service to reroute your mail
And your phone company so new phone lines won’t fail
Next is the packing but before you do
Take personal valuables home with you
Then determine what items need to be trashed
And whatever is leftover is what you should pack
Label all items that will be moved
With name and station number they should be moved to
Leave nothing amiss, not a lamp, not a chair
So the movers can deliver your items right there
Scheduling IT is the next thing to do
To disconnect at the old space and reconnect at the new
Your telecommunications system should be moved and tested
By a specialist that will ensure they perform at their best
Finally, confirm that your company name
Will be listed on the signage of your new domain
Both at the entrance and on your suite floor
So stakeholders can be easily led to your door
With all the above done, you’ll be in good shape to move
To leave the old place and embrace the new
When all is in place to meet operation needs
All that will be left is for your business to succeed.”
‘Commercial Property for Sale’ Demand Drives Anticipated Double-Digit Increase in Vacant Leased Office Space in GTA by 2016
Major real estate companies agree—the current demand for commercial property for sale will definitely impact vacancy rates of leased commercial property within the GTA over the next three to four years.
A report by commercial leasing company, Colliers International, notes that demand and vacancy rates for leased commercial property, particularly office space in the GTA region, has been steadily decreasing over the last two quarters of 2013, so much so that the vacancy rates in Toronto’s downtown core hit an all-time low of 3.9 percent in the third quarter of 2013 (1.2 percent less than last year). At the same time, a recent annual commercial report from RE/MAX noted that demand for industrial buildings and retail storefronts for sale along the subway and other major transit lines has remained unprecedented despite the lack of inventory of such commercial property for sale.
Such demand activity for commercial property for sale seems to be driven primarily by the arrival of smaller investors, young professionals and end users taking advantage of the low interest rates and healthy rates of return and looking to buy shops and other commercial properties rather than rent, because they know the rental market remains so tight and vacancy rates are so low in Toronto that, according to commercial realtor Michael Davidson, they could easily lease out units above a store for top dollar.
“There’s a lot of money chasing a limited supply of commercial product, be it multi-unit residential, industrial, or retail storefront,” says Gurinder Sandhu, Executive Vice President, Regional Director, RE/MAX Ontario-Atlantic Canada. “In some areas of the country, we’re seeing unsolicited offers on product not available for sale—often well above market value.”1
Currently, in response to the current commercial property demands, the City of Toronto has more than 7.3 million square feet of new commercial property space under construction, largely in fast-growing areas such as the new South Core between Union Station and Lake Ontario.
“But there’s no doubt that tenants are keenly anticipating the coming glut of new office space and “trying to hit the opportunistic window” by signing leases now that only last until 2016 or 2017 so they are more firmly in the driver’s seat and able to negotiate renewals or moves with incentives or lower rates as vacancy rates are likely to soar close to double digits”. Susan Pigg, Business Reporter, Toronto Star 2
References:
1 RE/MAX Media Newsroom, “Tight commercial inventory levels impede sales activity in most major Canadian real estate markets, says RE/MAX”, Mississauga October 29, 2013,
2 Susan Pigg Business Reporter, Toronto Star, “Glut in office space to hit GTA: report”, October 9, 2013 (Reposted October 29, 2013)
3 Susan Pigg Business Reporter, Toronto Star, “Commercial real estate a hot commodity in GTA”, October 29, 2013
4 Colliers International, “GTA Industrial Report for Fall 2013”
Related articles
- Glut in office space to hit GTA: report (thestar.com)
- Vacancy rates for GTA office space to soar: report (rexdaleclc.wordpress.com)
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