PRESS RELEASE 

CBRE’s New Toronto West Office is a ‘Workplace of the Future’

- New office pioneers workplace wellness concepts and WELL Building Standards in Toronto -

Toronto - June 14, 2016 - CBRE has launched its new Toronto West office as one of the most advanced and forward-thinking office environments in Canada. Located at 5935 Airport Road, the new office is part of CBRE’s Canadian workplace transformation program to deliver world-class office spaces for its employees coast-to-coast. Toronto West represents the fourth new delivered office in the last 18 months, with a further three to be completed in the remainder of 2016. The office has been designed as one of the healthiest workplaces in Canada and is registered for WELL Building Certification, the first building standard to focus exclusively on the health and wellness of the people in buildings. 

“When CBRE entered the Canadian market over 30 years ago, we led the industry ahead of all other commercial real estate firms by pioneering the open concept office. Today, our Canadian workplace transformation program will again set new levels of innovation within the industry, allowing us to work smarter and create new levels of connectivity between our three GTA offices,” commented Mark Renzoni, President and Chief Executive Officer of CBRE Canada. “Simply put, what we have created is the work place of the future.”

The completed office showcases CBRE’s leadership in workplace strategy and project management. The entire project has been sourced and executed by CBRE service lines all the way from creating the workplace strategy and design, to project managing the procurement and construction process and, finally, right down to the planning and execution of the physical relocation of over 100 employees. The latter was achieved without any hours lost to business downtime.

“The DNA of this office is 100% CBRE, and that’s what gives us all the greatest sense of pride in what we have achieved together. We advise companies all around the world on how to gain an advantage from their real estate, so for us, this office space is all about practicing what we preach. It’s our living case study for the depth of expertise within our integrated service lines and a perfect example of the quality of workplace we can deliver our clients,” commented Werner Dietl, Executive Vice President and GTA Regional Managing Director. 

Click to Watch CBRE's Toronto West Office Transformation: 
 

The office has been designed based around four key concepts: wellness, choice, mobility and connection:

• Wellness: The office has been designed to adhere with WELL Building Standards for New and Existing Interiors, as a result all workplace design decisions have been taken with a human-centered approach. 100% of the office’s workstations are Sit-Stand to reduce the known health impacts of sedentary behavior that most traditional desks encourage. To keep employees alert and healthy, the internal air quality is in the top 1% of all offices globally and the HVAC system automatically pumps in fresh air from outside when increased levels in Carbon Dioxide are detected. Light, and electric light in particular, can have a very meaningful impact on a person’s sleep-wake cycle and their natural circadian rhythm. As a result, no employee is more than 25 feet from natural sunlight or views and the circadian-relevant lighting system automatically adjusts to brighten or dim based on the natural sunlight level outside.

• Choice:  CBRE needed to address a variety of work styles for its dynamic and multigenerational workforce. The office features seven different work spaces for employees to choose from and provides flexibility to work as individuals or teams, both in quiet or collaborative environments.

• Connection: The new Toronto West office features four times the number of meeting spaces to foster collaboration. The RISE Café has been designed as the focal point of the office and drives connections across departments and serendipitous collisions. Through easy access to its technology infrastructure, the Café also provides a venue for CBRE’s clients who choose to stay on and work after meetings in the office. 

• Mobility: Enhanced technology allows employees to move and work freely not only from any location in the Toronto West office, but from any CBRE office nationally. Employees can plug-in at any work station or meeting space as a portion of the office has been dedicated to free addressing for visiting CBRE employees and clients from across the country. The Toronto West office’s close proximity to Pearson Airport also allows for clients and contacts from across North America to drop-in on their way to or from the airport and experience first-hand CBRE’s best practices in Workplace Strategy.

“Our decision at CBRE to be one of the first companies in Canada to pursue WELL certification reflects our belief that employee health and wellness are becoming ever more critical in driving the real estate decisions of leading organizations. Moreover, the average worker spends approximately half their waking hours in an office, so it’s a place where employers can have a very real and direct impact on employee wellness. By being an early mover, not only do we create one of the healthiest offices spaces in Canada for our people, we will be in an experienced position to counsel our clients through the process,” added Ashley O’Neill, Vice President of Corporate Strategy at CBRE Canada.

“Not only does the quality of the space help advance our brand, it also improves our ability to attract and retain top talent. Furthermore the new CBRE signage atop of the building is a striking visual statement to the market about our longstanding commitment to this region, where we have been present for over 30 years. You just need to look out of the window to know that we’re located on centre-ice in Canada’s most important industrial and logistics hub,” commented Greg Clark, Managing Director of CBRE Toronto West.

 

About CBRE Group Inc. 

CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBG), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Los Angeles, is the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (in terms of 2015 revenue). The Company has more than 70,000 employees (excluding affiliates), and serves real estate owners, investors and occupiers through more than 400 offices (excluding affiliates) worldwide. CBRE offers strategic advice and execution for property sales and leasing; corporate services; property, facilities and project management; mortgage banking; appraisal and valuation; development services; investment management; and research and consulting. Please visit our website at www.cbre.com.
 
In Canada, CBRE Limited employs approximately 1,885 people in 20 locations from coast to coast. Please visit our website at www.cbre.ca.
 

CBRE Limited, Real Estate Brokerage