Category - Workplace-strategy

Weekly ‘Roundup’ of real estate news from Waterloo Region and Guelph

Ten articles from the week of May 11th to the 17th

City aims to make Kitchener a musical destination

This city’s push to leverage live music for economic development puts it ahead of larger and smaller municipalities across southern Ontario, the head of Music Canada said. The Record

City buys into Hespeler core

The city’s 68km off-road trail system is about to get a little bit longer in Hespeler. Cambridge Times

Eateries lead the charge in downtown revitalization

A couple of women are sitting in the shade under the awning at Holy Guacamole on Duke Street — a small block hailed as big success for downtown revitalization. The Record

Privatization of city parking an option, Guelph committee hears

Officials working on a parking master plan for the downtown core have considered all options, including privatization, a city committee heard Monday. Guelph Mercury

Leap of faith gives convent new life in Guelph

The Sisters of Loretto Convent was never the architectural superstar of Catholic Hill, a collection of 19th century limestone religious and educational buildings perched high above the city of Guelph, Ont. Globe and Mail

MacNeil Consumer Healthcare expanding in Guelph

Major expansion work is underway at the McNeil Consumer Heathcare facility on Woodlawn Road in the city. The plant manufactures over-the-counter medications such as Tylenol, Benadryl, Imodium and Sudafed. McNeil is a division of Johnson & Johnson Inc. Guelph Mercury

City politicians have identified eight key priorities for the continued growth and success of uptown Waterloo. Waterloo Chronicle

City hall wants Guelph to grow faster

City staff is recommending council approve more residential units than usual this year, after building the last few years has come in under target. Guelph Mercury

Delta in downtown Kitchener to become a Crowne Plaza hotel

The Delta Hotel in downtown Kitchener is being turned into a Crowne Plaza hotel and is undergoing an extensive multi-million dollar renovation. Guelph Mercury

Waterloo falls short on development charge targets

The City of Waterloo failed to meet its development charge targets in 2012, mostly due to the changing landscape of residential development. The Record

Weekly ‘Roundup’ of real estate news from Waterloo Region and Guelph

Nine articles from the week of April 27th to May 3rd

Waterloo, developers working things out on Northdale appeals

The City of Waterloo is hoping it can settle appeals of its plan for the Northdale neighbourhood without a long battle at the Ontario Municipal Board. The Record

Controversial Guelph student housing proposal gets municipal board approval

A big hurdle seems to have been cleared over a controversial proposal to develop a student housing highrise across from the University of Guelph campus. Guelph Mercury

Property owners take city to municipal board over driveway

Controversy over a driveway has landed the City of Waterloo at the Ontario Municipal Board. The Record

Nothing plain about Jane’s Walk

Hot on the heels of Doors Open Guelph is another opportunity to see places and learn the stories of city you can’t find in a history book. Guelph Mercury

Taxpayers take hit for industrial and multi-residential properties

Homeowners will have to shoulder a bigger share of the property tax burden this year after city council decided Monday to shift some of the burden off of industrial and multi-residential properties. Guelph Tribune

City chiefs pitch joint economic development plan for all of region

In the next two months, city officials will consider an unprecedented move — working together on economic development and a strategy for industrial land. The Record

Value Village store proposed for St. Jacobs power centre

The power centre in St. Jacobs would see the addition of a Value Village location and a rearrangement of the Walmart store to allow for more grocery items under a plan introduced this week at Woolwich council. Observer Xtra

Office comforts without ties to the office

If you are running a small business, you may already be making regular trips to Staples for office supplies but thanks to a new project launched this week you can virtually operate your business from there as well. Guelph Mercury

Knape & Vogt to close Kitchener plant; 200 workers affected

U.S.-based manufacturer Knape & Vogt says its Kitchener plant will soon shut down, putting more than 200 people out of work. CTV News

 

SHAW | BOERTIEN moves to the ‘Cloud’

Well…not exactly. While we physically haven’t moved we have made the move to embrace cloud computing for all of our files. Working in a team of 3 (soon to be 4) each person on the team has different responsibilities on each assignment and needs to be able to access, review and edit our documents and materials in the office, on a tour or in a client’s office.

We all use multiple devises throughout the day – desktop, tablet, laptop and smart phone. So emailing files to ourselves or using a USB stick wasn’t an efficient or effective answer.

After doing some research on the various cloud services available we ultimately chose to go with Dropbox  for Teams. Now all of us have all of files, up to date, at our finger tips where ever we are and what ever devise we are using.

Cloud computing is not only providing some efficiency and convince to our team it is having a impact on the commercial real estate (CRE) business and workplace strategy. Some of the ways the cloud is impacting commercial real estate include:

- Reduced capital costs

- Improving work/life flexibility

- Supports virtual work environments

- Flexibility and cost savings for early stage companies

Here are a couple of other blogs / articles about the impact of cloud computing on CRE:

The Impact of Cloud Computing on CRE – The Tenant Advisor

Cloud Computing – Is it time to take the leap? - SIOR Professional Report