COVID-19response
CRISIS, CONTIN RECOVERY Commercial Real Estate Sector Contemplates COVID-19 By Barbara Carss THE MODELLERS didn’t precisely foresee a global pandemic upending the economy in the early months of 2020, but analysts and strategic planners have long assumed that an event like the COVID-19 outbreak could occur. Now in its grips, they’re looking to a range of tools and resources to both respond to the immediate crisis and help chart the way forward. “For a forecaster, it’s a black swan,” acknowledges Adam White, Chief Executive Officer of the energy management analytics and advisory firm, Powerconsumer Inc., evoking the term for sudden, unexpected upheaval with severe consequences. “I would never have guessed they would have ever evacuated and shut down so much of the economy.” However, predictive modelling now provides insight into what might lie 6 April 2020 | Canadian Property Management
ahead. In White’s case, that’s calculating potential electricity cost repercussions for many larger commercial customers and small manufacturers in Ontario — information that can guide those sectors’ decision-making and perhaps be leveraged to lobby the Ontario government for intervention and aid. Commercial real estate operators are seeking similar kinds of advice across a wide spectrum of expertise as they deploy their crisis management, business c o n t i n u it y a n d r e c ove r y pl a n s . Discussing the issue during a recent REMI Network-sponsored webinar, Rob Wesley, Lead, Real Estate and Construction Services, with the business consulting firm, MNP, noted that many questions are arising around lease obligations, rent deferrals, security and
cleaning requirements that call for extra legal, insurance, financial, IT and building services acumen. “I would lean on, rely on and make sure you are communicating with your advisor team,” he urged. He tallied the many demands building owners/managers are now juggling as they: confront disruption to their own service delivery models and supply chains; deal with their tenants’ similar business concer ns; accommodate essential personnel and contractors who still need to be on-site in buildings; and coordinate the efforts of scattered staff wo r k i n g f r o m t h e i r h o m e s . Management teams are facing often unfamiliar financial, technical and social challenges, discovering the strengths and weaknesses of their
