ProjectEnd
Superstar
urbanexplorer
Active Member
I wonder if that lobby is ever going to see the kind of foot traffic that it was built for. I just read an article that foot traffic is still down ~77% in the core. Makes me kinda sad.
C-mac
Senior Member
Not to derail the thread, but I don't buy that percentage.
evandyk
Senior Member
I am working in one of the downtown towers 1-2 times a week since August, and I buy it. But it's a lot busier now than it was in August, and I expect it to keep coming back, especially starting in January when the banks are talking about bringing people back in larger numbers, assuming this new covid wave doesn't start to bite.
evandyk
Senior Member
Here's the source of that stat, by the way:
Almost two years into the pandemic, Toronto’s Financial District remains mostly devoid of workers (77 per cent below 2019 levels) according to the Toronto Region Board of Trade’s Recovery Tracker tool.
Almost two years into the pandemic, Toronto’s Financial District remains mostly devoid of workers (77 per cent below 2019 levels) according to the Toronto Region Board of Trade’s Recovery Tracker tool.
Northern Light
Superstar
I'm reluctant to name firms, lest they come under scrutiny, but I can tell you with assurance that several large businesses downtown that are very collaboration dependent are back at 100% in-office traffic and have been since Labour Day at least.
My contacts at that banks have suggest return-to-the-office, at some level approaching normal will be mandatory beginning in January, phased in over the course of a month or so.
In the latter case, proof is in the pudding..............but in the former, it's already done.
TTC is showing significant spikes in passenger volume which should be public in short order; well short of pre-pandemic, but much higher than 60 days ago....
Northern Light
Superstar
Here's a key bit........(from the above)
the lack of workers in Toronto’s larger downtown core is less pronounced
(34 per cent below 2019 levels)
That indicates a return to 66% of pre-pandemic volumes, outside the financial services core.........which is planned to return in large numbers in the early new year.
Undead
Senior Member
TD has been vacillating since the summer. Previously, November was supposed to have been the "go" date, but it's been pushed off till January.
One large tech firm downtown that made me an offer in September was still five days WFH and had no imminent return plans at the time.
So it varies, but unfortunately the push back is well underway.
One large tech firm downtown that made me an offer in September was still five days WFH and had no imminent return plans at the time.
So it varies, but unfortunately the push back is well underway.
evandyk
Senior Member
I'm familiar with some of the planning in this area, and while the repeated waves of infections have thrown a bunch of planned (hoped-for?) timelines off, the big companies in the towers do intend to bring most people back several days a week.
With all of the new towers opening and more employers sending people into them, it is inevitable that population counts downtown will eventually pass the pre-pandemic numbers, even with a bunch of workers in those towers continuing to work from home some of the time. Might take us a few years to get there, but a lot of the gap will probably be closed in the first few months of 2022.*
*as everything covid-related, always subject to review and change.
With all of the new towers opening and more employers sending people into them, it is inevitable that population counts downtown will eventually pass the pre-pandemic numbers, even with a bunch of workers in those towers continuing to work from home some of the time. Might take us a few years to get there, but a lot of the gap will probably be closed in the first few months of 2022.*
*as everything covid-related, always subject to review and change.
urbanexplorer
Active Member
This has been my experience as well. It started to make me wonder if the return was ever going to happen. Sounds like the wheels are in motion though with a lot of companies so that's good to hear. Thanks for your POV's evandyk and Northern Light, it gives me more optimism. I will be moving FiDi-adjacent at the start of next year and the prospect of a ghost-core has put a damper on my excitement.
innsertnamehere
Superstar
I go to the office maybe once a week and have been doing so since August, and downtown has definitely gotten busier since then but it’s also still a shell of its former self.
I’m not sure we will end up with pre-pandemic crowds for a while, but it’ll probably get pretty close by next summer.
wmedia
Senior Member
I'm back in my downtown office mon-fri, and my sanity has improved considerably. I don't think I ever realized how important variety and random human interaction is for my wellbeing!
Undead
Senior Member
For me it's the exact opposite!
Amare
Senior Member
Mark me as being in the same boat as you. Funny thing is, i've heard of people saying literally they miss being in the office because they "miss the gossip and watching people get called into the offices of higher ups and wondering what they are in trouble for"
Seriously some people really just dont have a life, and need politics and gossip to sustain them. In many cases these are the same people who will create meetings for no reason, and find a way to call you at least once a day just to talk because they miss seeing people (or so they claim).
But in any case, I wouldnt be concerned about office space being completely devoid of life.