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Pinnacle International’s mixed-use 1 Yonge St proposal is still in front of the city for consideration, but that didn’t stop the architects from releasing a new set of renderings. Hariri Pontarini’s David Pontarini says this is a more detailed exploration of its six towers (good thing we stole those 3D glasses after watching Iron Man 3). This includes a clearer look at what the top of the buildings will look like, especially the one that stretches up 89 storeys. “It’s all part of the ongoing design work,” says David about the potentially landmark development, which’ll total 6.4M SF.

In there among the mix of towers is the old Toronto Star building. If this gets city approval, the folks in the newsroom better get used to an army of construction people in their midst. The Star HQ, built in 1970, will be re-clad, and another 10 storeys will be built on top.

Website – floor plans and additional information

Designed by award-winning KPMB Architects, this exceptional office property has been created for organizations where performance and success go hand-in-hand with sustainability and quality of life.

The physical footprint of 4050 Yonge Street will occupy two acres at the intersection of Yonge Street and York Mills Road, efficiently and effectively merging and mingling with an urban streetscape on one side and a natural ravine on the other.

I have been on tour with a few clients looking for Downtown West office space recently.  Attached are the best options I found in the between 800 and 2,000 sf.  For more information on these listings, call us at 416-643-3713 orE-mail Us Here or Contact Us!

TARA PERKINS – REAL ESTATE REPORTER
The Globe and Mail

The bidding wars that came to characterize Toronto’s housing market in recent years are now playing a role in its office space market, according to real estate brokerage Cushman & Wakefield.

The amount of available space in the city’s “B Class” office properties (office properties are ranked on a scale where “A Class” buildings are the top quality ones in the most sought-after locations) has been very low for nearly two years now.

“For the first time in many years we’ve seen tenants bidding against tenants for space – highlighting the strength of the landlord’s market,” said Michael Caplice, senior managing director of office leasing at Cushman & Wakefield. “This is highly unusual in downtown Toronto.”

At the end of March the vacancy rate for B Class space was 3.7 per cent, marking the seventh quarter in a row that it had come in under 4 per cent. In a balanced market it would be closer to 7 to 9 per cent, according to Mr. Caplice. With people feeling better about the economy, many tenants are looking to expand but their options are limited and prices remain high downtown.

“In this cycle we only expect things to get more difficult for tenants as there will be upward pressure on rental rates with no new supply projected to open up in the brick and beam market,” he said.

The expected construction of new office towers in the coming years will likely attract some tenants who are currently in B Class space, freeing up some space.

When agents refer to “model suites” it means the space is already constructed and ready to lease. Some of these space even have furniture! If you need space quickly (within 60 days) a sublease, model suite or business center will be your only options. For model suites listed with other companies like Adgar Properties, Bentall, Oxford Properties or Cadillac Fairview – reach out to us at 416-643-3713 or email us here!

For commercial real estate advice or a custom survey of available office space call 416-643-3713 or E-mail Us Here!

Two of our landlord’s gave us some great feedback on our listing services.  If you have a space for lease or want to sublease your premises, give us a call at 416-643-3713 to discuss!

Check what rights you have in your lease. If you don’t own your building, your landlord may not allow subleasing, may limit the types of businesses to which you can sublease or may stipulate the rent at which you can sublease, because the building doesn’t want to compete with its own tenants for new occupants, he says. Those conditions may also change depending on the occupancy levels of the building.

Make sure the space is suitable. We suggests checking that the space, once divided, meets fire and exiting codes. If the space does not, you may not be able to sublease it.

Check with your neighbors. If your lease and space allow you to sublease, check whether tenants in your building need more space. They’re often more motivated to choose adjoining or nearby space and may be able to move in sooner, especially if they’re in too-tight quarters.

Look for suitable tenants. Cast a wider net if no neighbors can take your space. The best way to do this is to hire a broker, like us. You can expect them to make calls and canvass the market looking for a suitable tenant. Fees for this service are typically paid from the deposit provided by the new subtenant!

Read more: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/218127#ixzz2QipX6FPE

Original Post – Blog TO - Chris Bateman

Toronto could be about to get a new city beach and giant public fountain if plans for the 3C waterfront development continue as planned. New designs for the project led by Foster + Partners (of London’s “Gherkin”) released earlier this week by the development’s landscaping team envision a new neighborhood on the vacant patch of land north of the Keating Channel, just east of the protected Victory Soya Mills Silos.

Whisky Beach, a nod to the Distillery District to the north, will perch on the corner of an existing inlet to the west of the construction site, commanding sweeping views along the harbour to the Toronto Islands. Though the designs are preliminary, the public space appears to draw inspiration from Sugar Beach and HTO Park.

Just behind the beach the landscape architects have designed a public space – dubbed Trinity Plaza – dominated by a 14-metre amber-coloured fountain. “Whisky Fountain,” which, sadly, sprays water, is the centrepiece of the Trinity Street pedestrian extension under the Union rail corridor and Gardiner to the water. A public waterfront promenade is shown parallel to the Keating Channel, passing under Cherry Street toward the mouth of the Don.

While Waterfront Toronto has a plan to transform much of the city’s Port Lands area, this development is on private land and is being organized separately from the mass revitalization work planned directly to the south. That said, the designs will eventually be raked over by Waterfront Toronto’s Design Review Panel in due course.

It’s also worth noting the designs optimistically show the East Bayfront LRT reaching the neighbourhood by the time construction is scheduled to wrap in 2020. It remains to be seen whether the unfunded separated streetcar route from Union to Cherry Street will get built. New transit taxes will likely need to play a role in order to get it built.

Construction is still some way from getting started. The proposal is still awaiting the necessary bylaw appeals, which are scheduled to be heard in the fall. Details on the cluster of buildings, together comprising 2.4 million square feet of residential, office, and retail space, are not yet available.

What do you think about the new look for the empty patch of land? Are you pleased the concrete silos will be kept? What about Whisky Beach and Fountain – does Toronto lack public water features?

First quarter 2013 office market reports on the Colliers website. Some highlights of the quarter include:

• The downtown market has seen an increase in demand for office space as shown in the steady decline in the vacancy rate from 4.6 percent to 4.2 percent since last quarter.

• Heightened leasing activity, especially with the more significant deals done at Commerce Court West, has resulted in fewer large block opportunities. In the past six months, the several large block spaces that have been vacant in the building have been leased to sizeable tenants, including Chubb Insurance, Inmet Mining and Laurentian Bank, resulting in this building being almost fully leased.

• Quick absorption of new product in the downtown core has boosted developer confidence, resulting in the escalation in the number of developments moving into the construction phase before pre-leasing commitments reach the standard 60 percent. With roughly 5 million square feet of office space currently under construction in the downtown core and 17 projects in the planned/proposed phase, new supply could add a potential 14 million square feet to the downtown office inventory from 2015 to 2018.

• After 2 consecutive quarters of relatively high absorption, the GTA West market posted low levels of absorption this quarter at a total of 4,806 square feet. Despite the low overall absorption number, there was a heightened amount of activity this quarter. Several new tenants entered the market as well as several companies either vacated their space or downsized this quarter, including RIM and Odyssey Financial, both leaving space at 2425 Matheson Boulevard East.