“You may not know the sustainability and wellness lingo – but you will know that it feels different when you walk into our new Global HQ in Toronto at 222 Bay,” begins Brandy Burdeniuk, Director of ESG, North America, as she shares some of the updates and highlights of our 2023 headquarters move and fit out.
“Here, sustainability and wellness aren’t just buzzwords; they shape every detail, offering an environment where comfort, inspiration, health, and productivity seamlessly converge,” she adds.
Avison Young is committed to achieving net-zero emissions across our global workplaces by 2040, so every project counts. It started with building selection. Taking space in the iconic 222 Bay, an existing building complete with major retrofit and prestigious WELL Core Certification, was a strategic decision. Owned by Cadillac Fairview, this building is part of Canada’s largest WELL Core Certified complexes.
With their impressive first place ranking in the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) survey amongst their peer group, Cadillac Fairview matched Avison Young’s passion to create a vibrant, welcoming, safe, healthy and amenity-rich environment for everyone who walks through the doors.
The revitalized complex prioritized the comfort, wellbeing and productivity of the HQ team with amenities such as:
Ensuring our space was aligned with the employee needs, the company culture and ESG targets further futureproofed the investment in this space. “Building off the WELL Core foundation we chose to pursue both LEED and WELL certifications for our office space, ensuring we meet and retain the highest standards of environmental excellence, alongside prioritizing the health and wellness of our people,” Brandy explains.
“But staying on budget was still a big priority. We know and understand the value and quality assurance that comes with LEED and WELL certifications, so it was important to us to be able to model for our customers, and the industry that certification was possible, even in a market where cost containment is key,” she adds.
While this is the company’s new HQ, not everything is net new! Diverting and reusing existing materials, fittings and furnishings is one of the ways we kept both costs and impact on the environment down. Notably, we repurposed a stunning live edge wood bar top which is now part of a breakout space, plus all office furniture and 40% of existing workstations were repurposed for the new space.
“The people make the space, and like our other recent fit outs in Canada, U.K. and U.S. locations, our own team led the project from start to finish – demonstrating how we not only talk the talk, but walk the walk,” Brandy says.
“It makes us even prouder to recognize the diversity of the team involved in 222 Bay Street. 80% of the core team are women, which is a rare feat in an industry where women are underrepresented and underrecognized,” she adds.
“Together, our brokerage advisory team, in-house ESG, workplace, project management, and brand teams crafted a vibrant space honoring Avison Young’s legacy and future. Our new Global HQ fosters innovation and collaboration, integrating design features that support health, wellness, and sustainability,” she concludes.
The team have called the space a “Living Lab,” inviting clients, contacts, and themselves to come and experience all the space has to offer.
“There are so many wonderful aspects intentionally designed into the new space,” shares 222 Bay Project Lead, Principal & Managing Director, Canadian Practice Leader, Project Management Services Arlene Dedier. “The Commons, for example, is a place that demonstrates flexibility and collaboration as a community space that we share not only with our people but with visitors to our office, through after-hours events, classrooms for university students, boardrooms for brokerage meetings, to board meetings for organizations and launchpads for fundraising events that brings connection to a whole new level.”
She continues, “I also love the little touches that make big impacts, like biophilic green walls that have become the Instagram moment of the space, our telephone booths where people can have private conversations, and the general “phygital” nature of the space bringing the seamless integration of technology into our physical spaces, while still leaving so much room and space for integrating aspects of our natural world around us. It’s fresh, energetic, and revitalizing, for our people and planet, all at once.”
Hear from our HQ team on how they delivered the space on time, on budget and importantly, on strategy.
