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Diamond to unveil plans for Osgoode Hall wing
The Globe and Mail
What do opera and lawyers have in common? Toronto architect Jack Diamond. Fresh off his widely acclaimed design of Toronto's new Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, Mr. Diamond will be joining a team of legal heavyweights at Toronto's Design Exchange tonight to unveil his plans for a new building at Osgoode Hall Law School. Canada's largest law school is seeking to raise $25-million to add a modern glass and stone wing to the school's cramped brick low-rise at York University.
Ever since the school moved to York in 1969 from its stately, historic home in downtown Toronto, students have grumbled about the lack of light and space in the school's bunker-like building. Mr. Diamond plans to infuse the new building with natural light from massive windows and skylights that will clad much of the building.
Tonight, Osgoode dean Patrick Monahan plans to announce that the school has already raised $6-million for a building that is set to begin construction next summer. One of the biggest pledges for the new law centre is coming from Toronto real estate developer Ignat Kaneff, who has pledged to donate $2.5-million. The gift, subject to the approval of York University's board of governors, will earn him naming rights to the new structure.
Goodmans to move closer to the action
It wasn't too long ago that law firm addresses said a lot about the identity of a firm's major clients. McCarthy Tétrault LLP's has roosted for years at Toronto's TD Bank tower largely because of its long-term relationship with the bank. Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP occupies several floors at First Canadian Place in honour of its long-standing ties to Bank of Montreal. As for Stikeman Elliott LLP's offices at Commerce Court West, you guessed it, a product of long-term ties to Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.
The funny thing is, most banks don't own their buildings any more. In fact most companies don't own their office towers any more, thanks to cash-rich pension funds that have acquired most of the country's skyscrapers. So what's a law firm to do? Move. One of the latest firms to move is Goodmans LLP. The firm has struck a deal with Brookfield Properties to lease 170,000 square feet in its long-delayed Bay Adelaide centre in the heart of the Bay Street financial district. Goodmans had been marooned for years in the Eaton Centre, blocks away from Toronto's money centre. Goodmans agreed to move to the shopping centre out of loyalty to its client Cadillac Fairview.
That relationship changed, however, in 2000 when the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan acquired the developer. The firm's new digs at the 1.1-million-square-foot Bay Adelaide tower are due to be completed in 2009.
The Globe and Mail
What do opera and lawyers have in common? Toronto architect Jack Diamond. Fresh off his widely acclaimed design of Toronto's new Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, Mr. Diamond will be joining a team of legal heavyweights at Toronto's Design Exchange tonight to unveil his plans for a new building at Osgoode Hall Law School. Canada's largest law school is seeking to raise $25-million to add a modern glass and stone wing to the school's cramped brick low-rise at York University.
Ever since the school moved to York in 1969 from its stately, historic home in downtown Toronto, students have grumbled about the lack of light and space in the school's bunker-like building. Mr. Diamond plans to infuse the new building with natural light from massive windows and skylights that will clad much of the building.
Tonight, Osgoode dean Patrick Monahan plans to announce that the school has already raised $6-million for a building that is set to begin construction next summer. One of the biggest pledges for the new law centre is coming from Toronto real estate developer Ignat Kaneff, who has pledged to donate $2.5-million. The gift, subject to the approval of York University's board of governors, will earn him naming rights to the new structure.
Goodmans to move closer to the action
It wasn't too long ago that law firm addresses said a lot about the identity of a firm's major clients. McCarthy Tétrault LLP's has roosted for years at Toronto's TD Bank tower largely because of its long-term relationship with the bank. Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP occupies several floors at First Canadian Place in honour of its long-standing ties to Bank of Montreal. As for Stikeman Elliott LLP's offices at Commerce Court West, you guessed it, a product of long-term ties to Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.
The funny thing is, most banks don't own their buildings any more. In fact most companies don't own their office towers any more, thanks to cash-rich pension funds that have acquired most of the country's skyscrapers. So what's a law firm to do? Move. One of the latest firms to move is Goodmans LLP. The firm has struck a deal with Brookfield Properties to lease 170,000 square feet in its long-delayed Bay Adelaide centre in the heart of the Bay Street financial district. Goodmans had been marooned for years in the Eaton Centre, blocks away from Toronto's money centre. Goodmans agreed to move to the shopping centre out of loyalty to its client Cadillac Fairview.
That relationship changed, however, in 2000 when the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan acquired the developer. The firm's new digs at the 1.1-million-square-foot Bay Adelaide tower are due to be completed in 2009.
