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knowledge-leader.com
Photographs by Alessandro Roethel
Last year, Colliers International | Canada went in search of a national winner for its Great Companies and Great Spaces contest. The award honors companies that put their employees first, and look at real estate decisions not just as bricks and mortar, but as potential environments for innovation and collaboration—companies that use their spaces to represent their corporate brands and cultures effectively. Colliers found just what it was looking for in the Vancouver, British Columbia, offices of Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP (FMC), a leading Canadian business and litigation law firm. When FMC Vancouver began looking for a new address in 2008, the challenge was finding any space at all—let alone an award-winning one. The firm had a specific vision for its offices, and Vancouver was experiencing a very low vacancy rate. At first, there were no viable properties available. As luck would have it, however, just as FMC was in the market for new offices, another Colliers client—computer games creator Electronic Arts— wanted to surrender its lease of AAA space on the top four floors of Cadillac Fairview’s Waterfront Properties building in the downtown core. Once an agreement was made, planning the interior layout features began in earnest. After moving into the renovated offices in December 2010, the new space and amenities surpassed even FMC’s expectations, says David Thistle, Senior Sales and Leasing Vice President at Colliers in Vancouver with more than 20 years of experience. “Originally, the space was improved for a high-tech company, customized to their own needs. Mostly, the environment fit well with FMC’s goals,” he says. “A prominent feature is a double-helix, wood-and-steel, circular staircase connecting all the floors, and an overhead skylight serving the entire core. Also, there is onsite access to a gym, shower facilities and bike lockers in the building.” In addition, the offices are ideally located in the city’s downtown commercial district with easy access to Vancouver’s SkyTrain light rail system, SeaBus service to North Vancouver, the brand-new Canada Line direct access to the Colliers international FALL 2011
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