How do tenants decide which building to take space in?
Price per square foot is a key factor but the financials are often very competitive. The decision to lease in one building versus another is often swayed by physical attributes.
Suite 101, 14 King Street. 1,842 s.f. office.
Tenants want to feel comfortable that the building they are moving to is going to be an asset to their company and that prospective employees will see it as an attractive place to work. The three key elements are:
- Amenities: The “walkability” of our uptown created by the internal pedway system means that most of the amenities that tenants want are nearby.
- Aesthetics: Saint John’s inventory of heritage buildings offer the character that many people crave such as high ceilings and exposed brick & beams. “Historic buildings have a unique appeal that new buildings cannot duplicate {on the flip side} new buildings have the long-span, light-filled, flexible footprints and modern common-area finishes that are so attractive. Many buildings built from 1960 to 1990 are caught in-between, and if they remain un-renovated, often feel trapped in time.”
- Sustainability. Only a few of buildings in Saint John are LEED certified.
Read more about what tenants want and the benefits of LEED certified buildings HERE via www.high-profile.com
Resurrecting formerly blighted parks & train tracks spurs economic development
Lessons learned from New York City’s High Line park
“The city had recouped construction costs within a year, as the corresponding uptick in property taxes in 2010 “surpassed the cost of constructing the park itself.” Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg also touted the success of the High Line in 2011, when he told a crowd that it had led to more than $2 billion in private investment, according to the Times.
Given the success of the High Line, both as a public works project and a local economic engine, it’s not surprising that cities across the U.S. and elsewhere around the globe are moving forward with plans to resurrect formerly blighted parks and train tracks.”
Read the back story and further information HERE via http://www.freeenterprise.com
PICS: my High Line photos from 2011
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- High Line Information
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- High Line Park
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- View of Old Rail Bed
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- View from High Line
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- High Line NYC
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- Urban Park on Elevated Rail Way
#222water Waterfront Redevelopment Opportunity
View of Building from Water Street
Located at the core of redevelopment of one of the oldest port cities in North America. Current group of owners are looking to sell or partner with investors with the goal of realizing 222 Water’s full potential.
The building is 50’ x 100’, 7 stories high and approximately 32,900 square feet of gross leasable space.
The property has a very flexible zoning. The property is not flagged as “heritage” which means developers will have the utmost leeway for creativity and design.
Follow #222water on Twitter. For more info & additional photos click HERE
PHOTO GALLERY
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- Street view from Prince William showing proximity to Harbour
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- Brick Walls
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- Entire building has been gutted and ready for fit ups
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- 1 level up from Water
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- View of Water Street from upper floors
Brideau speaks to importance of a vibrant downtown core
The Atlantic Provinces Economic Council (APEC) held its 20th annual Business Outlook Conference on November 3-7 in Halifax, St. John’s, Saint John and Charlottetown. APEC just released the Conference Report “A Look Ahead at the Region’s Economy in 2020”. This report summarizes the key messages from APEC staff and industry panelists, who discussed what businesses can do to prepare for 2020. Two panelists spoke to the issue of urban development:
Andy Fillmore, Vice-President of Planning and Development at Waterfront Development, discussed the need for sustainable, attractive urban development to entice young workers to live in the region. He explained how decades of suburban development in Halifax and underdevelopment in the downtown core has caused a hollowing out of the city’s population. He talked about how young professionals are looking for walkable communities and living in apartments and condos as opposed to purchasing single dwelling suburban homes and cars due to financial constraints and the desire to live a healthier lifestyle. Citing his work with the Council for Canadian Urbanism, Fillmore called for more progressive, sustainable urban development to improve economic health and social inclusiveness.
Keith Brideau, Founder of Historica Group of Companies, described new opportunities for growth in the downtown core. Through his experience of living in urban spaces in Toronto, Brideau was inspired to work in urban development. New IT companies with young professionals want to be based in downtown cores to have access to decision makers and because their employees are based in urban areas. Brideau discussed how housing affordability is an issue with more people looking to live in condos and apartments. He also highlighted baby boomers as an emerging market as maintenance costs for single dwelling homes will be undesirable.
Click HERE to view and/or download the entire report.
LEASED: 77 Germain Street BEFORE & AFTER PICS
Appnovation announced on Aug 14th, 2014 that they were coming to Saint John and that they would be creating 63 jobs here. They arrived earlier to scout for space for their new Saint John office and what they found was a diamond in the rough on the top floor of 77 Germain Street (many people know this building as 40 King Street – our city’s hub of economic development agencies)
The floor had previously been used to house some large computer equipment and had never been restored to match the lower floors. This “raw” space became vacant and available in 2014 and Appnovation saw the potential.
Stephanie partnered with Justin Omichinski, Avison Young, Vancouver to represent Appnovation in their search and lease negotiations.
BEFORE & AFTER PICS
SUB-LEASED: This amazing view now belongs to Mariner Partners!
1 Germain Street (18th floor Brunswick Square), Saint John, N.B.
The 18th floor of Brunswick Square (17,497 square feet), previously occupied by Salesforce, has been sub-leased by Mariner Partners. Mariner continues to occupy space in the Red Rose Tea building (12 Smythe Street) but seized an opportunity to take advantage of the top class finishes and flexible collaborative environment that had been created on the 18th floor of the Brunswick Square office tower. Salesforce continues to occupy the entire 16th floor of Brunswick Square. Stephanie Turner represented Salesforce and Ian McCoy of Re/Max Professional Saint John represented Mariner Partners.
MORE PICS>>>
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- view of city
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- design accent
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- kitchen
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- kitchen seating
This is interesting…a visual history of office space
…a brief history of how seating arrangements have reflected our changing attitudes towards work.
NOTE: This is only one section of the original infographic. To view the original in it’s entirety click HERE
South Market Street Concept…follow up…
I was surprised and delighted to see the interest in “Concept for South Market Street”. The blog post was off-the-cuff inspired by a photo of a transformed alley in Auckland that reminded me of our South Market Street. The idea really took off when Mayor Mel Norton shared it with his followers on Google+ and on Facebook.
There were some naysayers but, I think, in general the comments were enthusiastically in favour of making South Market Street for pedestrians only.
Since the story generated so much interest, I did a little more on-line research on the subject and found an interesting article entitled “Urban alleys become pathways to revitalization”. The article described how 7 U.S. cities successfully transformed alleys in their urban cores. You can read that article here.
Brewer’s Alley at the Rialto Cafe in Denver.
Almost a full uptown block under new ownership tonight
Congratulations to Historica Developments on their successful acquisition of a portfolio of 4 uptown heritage buildings.
- 99 Germain Street has been the home of Bustin’s Fine Furniture retail showroom since 1905. Bustin’s Fine Furniture will be staying on as a tenant.
- 107 Germain Street is a 3 story office building currently the home to Dr. Brown, Claire Driscoll, Ispire and Enovex.
- 109 Germain Street is a 5 unit residential apartment building which is fully occupied.
- 30 Canterbury Street (also known as the “Canterbury Car Park”) is a 22,494 sq ft warehouse and parking structure.
The Bustin family had come to own the four buildings over many years in order to secure access to the alley behind the retail store to facilitate furniture deliveries. In recent year, the Canterbury Car Park has served as the warehouse for the furniture store. The large 3 story brick building on Canterbury had attracted inquiries from various developers over the years. Bustins finally concluded that warehousing was not the highest and best use for the building and it was identified as a candidate for redevelopment.
This transaction has been a long time coming with initial discussions starting in 2009. This was a complex transaction encompassing four mixed-use buildings each of which appealed to a different type of buyer/investor. It was important to the Bustin family that the buildings be sold together as a package and, in the end, Bustins and Historica Developments were successful in structuring a deal to make that happen.
Stephanie represented the vendor and Don Clancy, Gardiner Realty Ltd. Royal LePage represented the purchaser.
Saint John Commercial Real Estate 