Google is set to fully occupy an 18-storey office tower now under construction on Toronto’s King Street East. The newly inked deal with developer, Carttera, will see the digital technology giant consolidate its current offices in the Greater Toronto Area into 400,000 square feet in the city’s St. Lawrence neighbourhood next year.
“We look forward to a long-term collaborative relationship with Google for many years to come,” says Dean Cutting, a partner with Carttera. “Our vision for 65 King East has always been to combine innovative office architecture and an employee-centric workplace design with a dynamic forward-thinking organization.”
Bordering the financial district, the new Google headquarters is located near the downtown’s key public transit hub at Union Station and will provide 196 on-site bicycle stalls. The building is designed to achieve LEED gold certification and has already been certified Wired Score gold. In addition to 18 floors of office space, it will feature 18,000 square feet of outdoor terraces and nearly 11,000 square feet of retail space.
“Google’s decision to make 65 King East its new Toronto headquarters underscores the degree to which Toronto’s downtown core continues to expand,” maintains Jeff Friedman, executive vice president, office leasing, with CBRE Limited, which brokered the deal. “This is a significant statement of confidence in Toronto’s tech market and talent pool.”
Public sector pension plans, OPTrust, Manitoba Civil Service Superannuation Board and Investment Management Corporation of Ontario are co-investors in the project, which is slated for completion and occupancy in 2021, and plan to hold the asset for the long term. “At OPTrust, our focus is the security and stability of our members’ retirements and we invest and manage our portfolio in alignment with those long-term interests,” affirms Rob Douglas, managing director of real estate investments for the pension plan.
