WiredScore, which developed an international standard for rating Internet connectivity in commercial buildings, is expanding across Canada after launching in Toronto last year.
Wired Certification rates the infrastructure, connectivity and technological capacity of buildings. The company says the certification helps landlords more easily communicate their connectivity as an asset to prospective tenants, prompting shorter leasing cycles and, according to recent analysis by 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, the company says.
“Our national expansion in Canada marks a major milestone in the worldwide adoption of Wired Certification,” says WiredScore founder and CEO Arie Barendrecht. “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.”
Adoption of Wired Certification across Canada has accelerated since WiredScore’s October 2017 launch with 15 commercial owners signing on: 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.
Ivanhoé Cambridge was an early adopter of Wired Certification. Co-developed with Hines, 81 Bay Street at CIBC Square in Toronto was the first Canadian development to pursue Wired Certification and Maison Manuvie, co-developed with Manulife, was the first building to achieve the certification in Quebec. Ivanhoé Cambridge has since committed to certifying its Montreal office portfolio.
GWL Realty Advisors’ Vancouver Centre II development is the first project in Vancouver to pursue Wired Certification. The project is set to come online in 2021.
“Vancouver’s innovation and technology economy is booming,” says Geoff Heu, vice president of development, GWL Realty Advisors. “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.”
