WiredScore Announces National Expansion In Canada As More Office Owners Adopt Wired Certification
WiredScore, the company behind the internationally recognized certification platform for rating internet connectivity in commercial buildings, Wired Certification, officially announced its Canadian expansion after a successful regional launch in Toronto.
Founded in New York City, WiredScore has expanded the Wired Certification platform to six countries and is growing its platform in Canada to address the demand for the technology benchmark.
“Our national expansion in Canada marks a major milestone in the worldwide adoption of Wired Certification,” WiredScore founder and CEO Arie Barendrecht said. “Since establishing Toronto as our first Canadian flagship less than a year ago, we have experienced overwhelming interest from landlords in the region seeking to prepare their buildings for the next generation of office workers."
This is a result of the growing recognition that first-rate technological infrastructure is no longer a perk, but a necessity.
Wired Certification rates the infrastructure, connectivity and technological capacity of buildings. The certification helps landlords more easily market connectivity as a valuable asset to prospective tenants, prompting shorter vacancy periods and, according to a recent analysis from the CoStar Portfolio Strategy team, an increase in price per square foot in Wired Certified assets.
Six months after entering the Canadian market, 75 office buildings have committed to achieving Wired Certification, including CIBC Square, TD Centre, Scotia Plaza, One York Street, Maison Manuvie and Vancouver Centre II.
Whether the industry is technology, advertising or finance, reliable internet is critical for empowering modern office workers. Tenants like Amazon, BBDO, IBM, Scotiabank, OneEleven, Sun Life, TD Bank, CIBC and Deutsche Bank occupy space within Wired Certified properties across Canada.
Over 100M SF of commercial office space was Wired Certified across the U.S. and Canada in 2017. Adoption of Wired Certification across Canada has accelerated since WiredScore’s October launch, with 15 commercial owners leading the charge to make Canada’s office assets future-proofed and competitive in the global market.
Bentall Kennedy, Cadillac Fairview, Canderel, Carttera, Dream Office REIT, GWL Realty Advisors, Hines, Hullmark, IAM Group, Ivanhoé Cambridge, KingSett Capital, Menkes Development, Northwest Healthcare Properties, PCI Developments and QuadReal Property Group have each achieved Wired Certification across several of their office properties.
Ivanhoé Cambridge leads the Canadian market as an early adopter of Wired Certification. Co-developed with Hines, 81 Bay St. at CIBC Square was the first Canadian development to pursue Wired Certification. Maison Manuvie, co-developed with Manulife, was the first building to achieve certification in Quebec. Ivanhoé Cambridge has since committed to certifying its Montreal office portfolio.
“The office of the future melds work and play with enhanced flexibility, multipurpose use and, of course, rich hospitality characteristics,” Ivanhoé Cambridge Executive Vice President of Leasing, Office and Industrial, North America Jonathan Pearce said. “This is being achieved through both physical and technical infrastructure, as well as through the comprehensive array of services and amenities that have become a vital part of the overall value proposition of our offerings. WiredScore’s high certification standards help us deliver a measurable, productive work environment with recognized metrics that enable tenants of today and the future to better benchmark and evaluate a particular building’s infrastructure.”
GWL Realty Advisors leads Canada’s West Coast with its Vancouver Centre II development being the first project in Vancouver to pursue Wired Certification. The project is set to come online in 2021 as part of a number of developments under construction in a region with one of the lowest vacancy levels in North America.
“Vancouver’s innovation and technology economy is booming,” GWL Realty Advisors Vice President of Development Geoff Heu said. “We’ve designed Vancouver Centre II with leading-edge digital infrastructure that will enable tenants in this market segment to thrive. Wired Certification sends a strong signal to forward-thinking firms that Vancouver Centre II has the capacity to exceed their technology requirements now and in the future.”
Wired Certification is trusted by tenants internationally to verify that buildings have been independently evaluated and certified to provide the internet infrastructure businesses require to thrive. Wired Certification signifies ownership has invested in technology and differentiates a property as being tech-forward.
“If Canada wants to continue to attract innovative businesses and top talent recruits, commercial real estate owners and developers must provide workspaces that meet the ever-evolving digital needs of companies,” Barendrecht said.
This feature was produced in collaboration between Bisnow Branded Content and WiredScore. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.
