CANADA

– Jean-Marc Dubé , SIOR Senior Vice-President at Colliers International

Now Montreal is beginning to see developers breaking ground on speculative projects . The city is also growing in importance as a technology hub , and this is driving an exciting new development involving the repurposing of former industrial buildings . A good example is the former Johnson Wireworks building now called Lofts Wireworks located at St-Henri in the Sud-Ouest of Montreal . This old factory is in an area that is being redeveloped with multiple cafés , bars and restaurants only minutes from the new Montreal Super Hospital and Place St-Henri Metro . Yet , it offers offices between 1,680 and 29,845 sq ft for a lot less than what you would pay in Toronto . Dubé has seen the project through from the early stages of negotiation with the developer : “ I helped the client acquire the building , go through the process of repurposing the building and brought it back to the market as flex loft office space . Now I am working on locating the tenants and negotiating the transaction .”

Now this single tenant building will lease approximately 25 businesses . Some will be high technology businesses , some startups - there will be co-working space , as well as Montreal ’ s first makers ’ space called Espace Fabrique , where earlystage companies can take their first steps from concept to prototype . “ Historically known as being the manufacturing centre for Canada , Montreal is moving towards being

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