Brandon Donnelly — Daily insights for city builders. Published since 2013 by Toronto-based real estate developer Brandon Donnelly. — Page 1397

Amy Bath needs to leave comments here on ATC more often because she has great feedback and insights.

This morning she tipped me off to a brand new co-working space on the east side of Toronto called East Room . If you haven’t yet heard of it, I would encourage you to check out their website . They’re in a gorgeous heritage building along the Don Valley and they seem to have executed really well. I love their design aesthetic.

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They currently offer two different memberships: a resident membership ($500/month) and a club membership ($250/month).

This is exciting to me because I have a soft spot for both good design and the east side of Toronto. But probably more importantly, it speaks to the changing nature of work and the workplace , as well as to the shifts in how space is being consumed.

Co-working spaces are, of course, blowing up all over the world from Philadelphia to Berlin . The internet has empowered new ways to freelance and make money, and these kinds of spaces are really a result of that. Because even though it’s entirely possible for many of us to work remotely at home, we still crave the social interaction that comes from being within an office environment. And that’s a big part of what these spaces are. They’re a social fabric.

Amy’s hope is that condos will eventually start including amenity spaces that are similar to co-working spaces, and I think that’s a really interesting idea. The challenge, however, is that most developers today (and property managers) aren’t equipped to operate these kinds of environments.

But maybe it’s only a matter of time before some do become equipped, because I’m sure we’re going to see more, not less, of these kinds of urban spaces.

Images: @eastroom_

Yesterday I received a comment on my post about service and product companies with a suggestion to check out an interesting Fast Company article talking about the future of work (thank you Amy). The article was based on a research report – commissioned by CBRE and a real estate developer in China (Genesis) – called Fast Forward 2030: The Future of Work and the Workplace.

This is a topic that’s getting a lot airtime right now because Millennials are starting to impact work in a big way. But what’s interesting about it is how broad these impacts will be. Changes in how we work will affect the way we design our cities; the way architects and developers build and lease space; the type of people and roles companies will need to hire and create; and so on.

Here’s a snippet from the report :

“Providers of commercial buildings and places to work will need to develop new, sometimes counter intuitive, business models and work with partners who understand service and experience in order to compete with emerging workplace competitors. Successful providers will work with tenants to unlock ‘win win’ solutions that reduce occupier costs, increase flexibility, and simultaneously provide enhanced levels of community, amenity and user wellbeing. Cities will have a role to lead and nurture changes that will support the changing landscape of work.”

I plan to go through the report in more detail this weekend, but I did want to point out one thing. When business leaders from around the world were asked what their biggest competitive advantage would be by the year 2030, the top choice was: the ability to attract and retain top talent. This topped organizational vision and even the ability to innovate.

This might not come as a surprise to some of you, but it’s worth repeating. And in many ways, it’s a chain that begins first with cities. 

If you’ve ever watched The Startup Kids documentary, you’ll know that when Alexander Ljung (CEO of Soundcloud.com) was about to found his company, he actually started by first traveling around Europe looking for the coolest city in which to base his company. The last city on his trip was Berlin and that just so happened to be the team’s favorite. So that’s where Soundcloud was founded.

My point with that story is simply that the “workplace” of today – forget the future – means so much more than just your rentable area. Yes, that’s important. But there’s a lot more to consider when trying to get the best people. Cities play a huge role.

I recently connected with one of the principals of a Toronto-based construction management firm called Ripple Projects , which focuses primarily on contemporary custom homes (credit to 52 Pick-up for the introduction).

They’ve only been in business for a few years, but the founders spent many years prior to this doing similar projects at similar companies, such as Wilson Project Management .

Since they don’t yet have a lot up on their website, I asked if he could share one of his recent projects with me. He was happy to do that and so, with his permission, I’d now like to share it with all of you.

It’s a renovation and expansion of a semi-detached house at 109 Hazelton Avenue in Toronto’s upscale Yorkville neighborhood. The end result is roughly 3,000 square feet with 3+1 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms. If I remember correctly, it sold for close to $3 million.

Here are a few before pictures. It wasn’t in bad shape – just a bit dated.

And here are a few after photos.

I personally would have gone with something even more modern, but that’s just me and I wasn’t the client. It’s still a phenomenal project. So if you’re in the market for a new custom home, I would encourage you to give Ripple Projects a call. I was really impressed by our conversation.

Note: I have zero affiliation to the company. I just believe that good people deserve exposure.