Premier Doug Ford stressed the importance of private sector investment and thanked First Gulf, as well as the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP), for their continued investment in Toronto office developments at the groundbreaking event for The Shift at 25 Ontario Street.
Joining First Gulf CEO David Gerofsky and HOOPP CEO Jim Keohane on stage, the Premier acknowledged that “this is a clear indication that Ontario is open for business”, adding: “Having pension plans invest in Toronto instead of other cities — be it New York or London — we want to make sure that we tell any investor, invest in Ontario, invest in Toronto. We have a booming city, we have great people here. We have some of the best and brightest in the entire world.”
“David, thank you for contributing. It is absolutely critical that we continue to have a vibrant downtown and employ people. As you can see, condos are going up every single day, those people need a place to work.”
The Shift is a joint-venture between First Gulf and HOOPP which will add over 460,000 sf of office space and 4,000 jobs to a thriving business node in Toronto’s downtown East that is already home to The Globe & Mail Centre, the Coca-Cola building at 333 King Street East, George Brown College and Scotiabank’s Digital Factory. With a further 500,000 sf planned at 200 Front Street and the 70-acre, 10 million sf development at East Harbour, 25 Ontario is the next step in First Gulf’s continued commitment to major new cutting edge work spaces in Toronto’s East Core.
First Gulf’s David Gerofsky stressed the importance of the new transit hub at East Harbour to future economic development and job growth in the City of Toronto, with Premier Ford echoing those sentiments.
“Transit is going to be critical,” said Ford. “Not only for this but for your other developments. I can tell you we look forward to working hand-in-hand with Mayor John Tory to make sure that we get the City moving again.”
First Gulf is a proven market leader with more than $4-billion in developed assets. We pride ourselves on our commitment to flexibility and collaboration, working with our clients to exceed their needs at every turn. First Gulf would like to thank the Colliers listing team, as well as their colleagues David Hoffman and Matt Johnson, for their collaboration, hard work and efforts which made this endeavor a true success for all parties involved.
For more information on this project, contact First Gulf Sr. Vice President Brian Harrison (416.773.7095, bharrison@firstgulf.com).
