Filip said:
We are talking about the same thing, right? Banks aren't announcing record profits because of mortgages and they're certainly not growing into tech themselves because of it.

Fintech is revolutionizing the way banks will operate in the future. Payments and transactional banking is no longer the domain of the traditional bank. The Canadian institutions have seen the writings on the wall. Toronto's expertise in the financial sector and its massive tech footprint is turning the city into one of the globe's primary fintech centres. The growth is palpable.

There's some truly innovative stuff coming out of Toronto right now and it's driving a huge amount of jobs. The city is really prospering against any metrics.

Thomson Reuters has repatriated their CEO, CFO among other senior roles to Toronto. They are hiring 400 well paid tech workers. They are looking to add another 1,100 by 2020. That's just one story. There's a lot of confidence in Toronto and the Toronto market.

And no I have never worked for Nesbitt or a broker.
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No. I'm not talking about little, end user mortgages at all. I was referring to Fintech, etc. however. Canada (Toronto) has always being a front runner in bank technology. There's simply way too much competition for everyone to win big. There will be losers and thus the reference to it being bubbly.
 
am29 said:
I wonder which industries are fueling the demand..
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It is mining, isn't it?

Toronto is the mining capital of North America. It's those companies that are one of the larger industries fueling subsequent demand on financial services and technology.
 
It would be interesting to see a sector breakdown of office space absorption in the last 5 years. The commodities sectors got crushed during this time-frame so while they could probably add some tailwinds to future office space absorption I doubt mining companies for instance had a positive impact on our current low vacancy rates. From articles it seems that downtown at least, technology and media firms have done their part. Financial companies on the other hand I'm not sure because most of the big players have gone through cost-cutting not expansionary phases during this time frame. Pension fund players seem to have beefed up though.
 
There definitely should be a lot more demand from Bay Street than there actually is. Still, they have been right there to anchor most of the recent major office tower builds. SNC Lavalin is really the only anchor that stands apart.
 
downward trends in office space required for an employee have hid the level of growth in the downtown as well. Tenants are making more with less space by shrinking the footprint of each worker as a cost saving measure. It means that they can grow without leasing new space - more employment downtown even without new construction.
 
For sure. The banks have pretty much already maxed out how much more efficient they can make their unseen spaces. (well, for seated employees. standing would take up less square footage)
 
Someday soon.

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UrbanLurker said:
Posting this article here, although this could be relevant for Union Centre/30 Bay/160 Front West as well:
TD is looking for ~550,000 square feet of office space in Toronto.
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It mentions TD and BMO, but doesn't give any details about the later. TD could easily fit into 16 York, and given what's on offer this cycle, I think it's the most likely scenario. Union Centre and Bay-Adelaide North would also make sense. If BMO really wants >1 million sf, Union Centre and 160 Front are the only realistic options this cycle.
 
It's interesting to note that in 2014 TD said they were looking for 150k sqf 'immediately' and 400k sqf by 2017. Now the number is 550k. If they take a paused approach they could anchor Oxford Centre easily. As some of their leasing cycles expire they stagger occupancy. Exactly what CIBC ended up opting to do.

I actually become more and more optimistic of an all out 20 year building war between the banks. CIBC was first out the gate this time (sorry TD)
 
I think that the Well has more chance to be leased by TD because there will be more amenities in the Well.
A nice shopping district,public places, and good connection to transit make it a better choice than a bland and boring tower like
16 York .16 York has nothing that make it stand out among other office buildings.As for BMO ,i think that Union Centre
or 30 Bay .Those 2 tower will have a better connection to Transit and are strategically located. 160 Front is not that attractive
because the building dont have direct access to Union station unlike Union Centre.30 Bay is very close to the waterfront and Bay Park centre.
The waterfront is the new financial district and 30 Bay is located there. And with its futuristic design it can be leased very quickly by a big corporation.
this is why Union Center, 30 Bay and The Well ,could be construct very soon.
 
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enrigue8 said:
I think that the Well has more chance to be leased by TD because there will be more amenities in the Well.
A nice shopping district,public places, and good connection to transit make it a better choice than a bland and boring tower like
16 York .16 York has nothing that make it stand out among other office buildings.As for BMO ,i think that Union Centre
or 30 Bay .Those 2 tower will have a better connection to Transit and are strategically located. 160 Front is not that attractive
because the building dont have direct access to Union station unlike Union Centre.30 Bay is very close to the waterfront and Bay Park centre.
The waterfront is the new financial district and 30 Bay is located there. And with its futuristic design it can be leased very quickly by a big corporation.
this is why Union Center, 30 Bay and The Well ,could be construct very soon.
Click to expand...

16 York has much better transit and PATH connections than The Well. It's no contest there. 30 Bay is not far enough along for this cycle.
 
I can't imagine BMO wanting a million square feet. FCP is where the bulk of their space is and it wasn't that long ago where they swapped old space for new space made available by some departing law firms. They also leased 250,000 in Meadowvale around the same time.

TD makes sense. They have seen the most growth.
 
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