New Building Awards Will Benefit Toronto

Richard Silver TREB President

President's Newspaper/Magazine Columns
Toronto SUN Column (as it appears each Friday in the Toronto Sun)
New Building Awards Will Benefit Our City

February 10, 2012 -- In recent months Canada has received high marks in a number of studies conducted by various international consulting firms including Forbes, FutureBrand and Reputation Institute. When it comes to doing business, branding, and reputation, our country has been rated number one in the world. As Torontonians, we should be proud of our contribution to such rankings. In fact, in an April 2011 study conducted by PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Toronto placed second only to New York as the world’s most successful city.

One key element that contributes to Toronto’s outstanding international reputation is development. We have for example, more condominium buildings currently under construction in Toronto than in any other city in North America. Trends like this one demonstrate the confidence that developers and consumers have in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

To recognize innovative Commercial buildings that contribute to our city, Greater Toronto REALTORS® have established the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) Commercial Building Awards, and to tell you more about them, I have invited the Chair of our Association’s Commercial Division Larry Purchase to share this column.

Throughout the next five months developers, architects and Greater Toronto REALTORS® will have the opportunity to nominate projects as part of the TREB Commercial Building Awards. Projects can be nominated in various categories as follows: Green, Industrial, Commercial Office, Commercial Residential, Multi-Residential and/or Institutional.

Nominated buildings, which must be located in the GTA and have been completed between January 2009 and November 2011, will be evaluated based on various criteria. These include the project’s sensitivity to the environment, its design and innovation, and its success in answering a specific developmental need in the community.

A panel of five judges will visit each of the nominated projects to assess overall exterior design and determine how each fits into its surrounding area. Once each of the sites has been visited, the judges will meet to select one new and one retrofit building for a TREB Commercial Building Award.

The selected projects will be announced at a special awards ceremony that will take place at the Toronto Real Estate Board offices on October 30, 2012.

By recognizing outstanding accomplishments in new and retrofit Commercial buildings, we hope to inspire others to continue to strive for excellence, as doing so contributes to the quality of life throughout the GTA and to our city’s strong international reputation. When we work together to make ours a better city, and take the time to recognize such efforts, we all win.

All completed entries for the TREB Commercial Building Awards must be received at the Toronto Real Estate Board no later than Friday, May 31, 2012 at 4:30 pm.

To download a nomination form please visit TREBCommercial.com

Richard Silver is President of the Toronto Real Estate Board, a professional association that represents 32,000 REALTORS® in the Greater Toronto Area.

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