As Nordstrom is closing its store at Yonge and Dundas, the floors above have become BMO Place.Photo by Wallace Immen
As one door is closing, another has opened.
Downstairs in the building that was originally Eaton’s flagship department store in Toronto, a final clearance sale is under way as Nordstrom gets ready to move out of Canada.
Upstairs, Bank of Montreal held a ribbon cutting this month celebrating the transformation of the top four floors of the retail building into bright, modern corporate office space.
BMO Place, which will be home to 3,200 employees, reanimates four floors of the Eaton Centre department store at Yonge and Dundas that was acquired by Sears but closed in 2014. Nordstrom’s move into Toronto in 2016 only required two floors of the building and the vacant upper floors were put up for lease by landlord Cadillac Fairview. BMO signed a long-term lease in 2018 as it was looking to consolidate several divisions that had been scattered in various office spaces across the city.
A skylight-lit atrium was created by cutting through floors of the former department store space.KEVIN FUNG/Handout
It was part of a global rethink of BMO central offices, including London, New York and Chicago, says Cam Fowler, chief strategy and operations officer at BMO. “We were looking at the best examples around the world. We wanted offices with more open space that would bring employees together to drive collaboration. And we wanted everything founded on principles of sustainability.”
Repurposing the expansive space that totals 350,000 square feet rather than building new was a sustainable choice, but it presented some unique challenges. Each floor is the size of two football fields with windows only around the edges. The views of Yonge-Dundas Square to the east, City Hall and downtown to the west and along the length of Eaton Centre’s Galleria to the south are spectacular, but inside, the floors were dark. To provide natural light to work areas, a pair of central atriums was cut through the floors, with skylights in the roof. Interior partitions were removed to create a more seamless space.
”The redevelopment was aligned with BMO’s Zero Barriers to Inclusion 2025 strategy and includes flexible workspaces, new technology, accessibility and wellness features,” says Walter Wallace, head of global real estate operations at BMO.
Features include innovative, energy-efficient mechanical, electrical and lighting systems, water-conserving fixtures and a centralized waste-management strategy that reduces the volume of plastic liners going to landfill. The complex has been designed to achieve LEED Gold certification.
An office 'neighbourhood' on fifth floor of BMO Place overlooks the galleria of the Eaton Centre.Photo by Wallace Immen/Handout
The escalators connecting the floors were retained and now appear to float in the middle of an atrium. Toronto artist Panya Clark Espinal won a competition to create the artwork of colourful connecting rings that appears underside of the escalators.
A wellness centre includes barrier-free, gender-neutral individual washrooms with showers. A variety of individual quiet rooms decorated with calming scenes can be used by employees when they’re not feeling well, for meditation or prayer, or by mothers for nursing. The rooms are non-bookable and free for use if they are available.
There’s also a large studio, and employees are being asked what kind of programming they would like to see in the space, which can accommodate fitness classes, yoga, health seminars and ceremonies. “We’ve augmented the ventilation system in this room so we can hold smudging ceremonies,” Mr. Wallace says.
The escalators connecting the floors were retained and now appear to float in the middle of an atrium.KEVIN FUNG/Handout
“Every aspect of the space has been created to foster personal connections and inspire innovation through features such as mobile technology and ergonomic sit-to-stand workstations,” Mr. Wallace continues. In addition to cafés that encourage people to gather and collaborate, there will be large outdoor terraces with furnishings to work in warmer weather.
The planning team tested the floor layouts in wheelchairs to adjust furnishings to ensure everything was accessible. “You’d be surprised at the number of places we didn’t have enough room to manoeuvre because the turning radius with a wheelchair wasn’t taken into account,” Mr. Wallace says.
“Every aspect of the space has been created to foster personal connections and inspire innovation through features such as mobile technology and ergonomic sit-to-stand workstations.
— Walter Wallace, head of global real estate operations at BMO
Wayfinding is essential with such large floor areas, so there is a colour coding that aids in navigation and signage even includes compass directions. Signs also include Braille and elevators have voice activation.
There is still some finishing needed to complete the two top floors. “We timed the move-in date to ensure that most of the heavier infrastructure work was nearing completion. The remaining work is happening during the day, with any noisy work occurring on evenings and weekends so people who are working in the office can do so without interruption,” Mr. Wallace says.
The employee feedback has invariably been that this is an inviting workplace, and while there continue to be hybrid and remote options available, the new space is drawing people together physically to drive ideas and innovation, Mr. Fowler says.
Would BMO consider taking over the soon-to-be-vacated Nordstrom floors below? “For now, we have all the space that we need – but never say never,” Mr. Fowler says. “We hope there’s another wonderful tenant or set of tenants moving in because Eaton Centre is a very vibrant place. If you’re wondering about whether the world is [returning] to normal, come to the food courts at Eaton Centre at lunch time.”
A variety of individual quiet rooms decorated with calming scenes can be used by employees when they’re not feeling well.Handout