CF Pacific Centre Developments

[djh]

Originally Posted by Klazu

Excellent news regarding Microsoft. More big employers in town will hopefully keep driving up the local high-tech salaries which are still fairly low (Vancouver Sun article mentions average being only $75k. It is still cheap to hire employees in Vancouver vs. in Silicon Valley or other big cities in the States.

There is currently lots of demands for software developers and they can easily have several job opportunities and can go far in negotiating their salaries. it's difficult for the company hiring process, but a very positive thing for all the employees.

Hmm...debatable about how good it is to drive salaries up in an industry where we're trying to attract more investment. One of the major reasons why Vancouver is attractive to businesses is precisely because it is cheaper than other jurisdictions.
A $75k salary is way above city average, so I wouldn't be in too much of a rush to get greedy and push those salaries so high that other companies skip Vancouver due to salaries getting too high. It would be pretty much the beginning steps of inflation

[Zassk]

Originally Posted by Pinion

You're really rolling your eyes for that? Most young people don't even think of buying PC's anymore. People are not learning how to type on a keyboard. Sales back that up.

This is not an opinion, and shipped =/= sold.

MS is obviously still a behemoth but only from past success and office. Not the right place for this discussion though.

Even if your statements were correct (and they're not - every kid is trained to type in primary school, and the workplace has always been the main driver of PC sales), none of that reflects MS's success today. It is a very healthy company that has successfully reinvented itself similar to how IBM did and is thriving in growing markets, and the Vancouver office will be involved in those areas.

Every part of MS's business that you cast doubt on is superficial.

[SFUVancouver]

PCs =/= a freestanding monitor, freestanding box, and cabling all over the place. A non-Apple computer is a PC; Apple's own ads made that distinction clear.

If we're going to play the anecdote game, the (young) people I know are about evenly split between PCs and Apple computers. Those who self-identify as creative and non-conformists without exception all have Apple laptops and iPhones, and they all used to have iPods. A slim majority of people I went to grad school with had PCs (laptops, obviously) and it's a pretty mixed bag when it comes to computers at the workplace or in meetings I attend, but everyone is running Office. Full stop.

[Prometheus]

Originally Posted by SFUVancouver

Those who self-identify as creative and non-conformists without exception all have Apple laptops and iPhones...

So, all the self-professing non-conformists are taking the radical step of buying one of the most fashionable, most trendy, most ubiquitous brands of technology from the richest corporation in the world.

Oh, I love it.

[Graham_Yvr]

Perhaps we could get back on topic here? These posts are more suited the Vancouver Business Thread. Just my two bits.

[Klazu]

Originally Posted by djh

Hmm...debatable about how good it is to drive salaries up in an industry where we're trying to attract more investment. One of the major reasons why Vancouver is attractive to businesses is precisely because it is cheaper than other jurisdictions.
A $75k salary is way above city average, so I wouldn't be in too much of a rush to get greedy and push those salaries so high that other companies skip Vancouver due to salaries getting too high. It would be pretty much the beginning steps of inflation

You are correct that it's a balance that needs to be maintained by both employers and employee, but currently it is way too much to employers' advantage. It's cheap to hire in Vancouver, but our current salaries are not enough to attract the best international or out-of-town talent to Vancouver.

This is very much true with software developers that every company nowadays needs. Having done some hiring myself recently, there is not a lack of software developers in Vancouver, but there is an abundance of mediocre talent that you don't want to be hiring. You want the best and that is difficult because the best are currently not lured to Vancouver in crowds. And those that come here, have salary expectations that are valid for their skills, but are so much over average salaries in Vancouver that they are difficult to accommodate.

Our great reputation as the most livable city etc. helps, as people have positive views on Vancouver and may want to consider this city, but our lack of affordability is very off-putting to many. Best talent will always find a job under their own terms and when they are being paid much more elsewhere, they are more likely to go with that.

High-tech sector's $75k is surely much more than the average wages in Metro Vancouver, but within the sector itself that is very poorly for a major city. There are some companies that pay (even much) more than that on average and they have no problem to attract talent. I am sure MSFT will be in that camp and that will force also other companies to either pay more or settle for the mediocre talent.

So it's a two-edged sword and I certainly see your point, but I still think the balance is out of whack currently.

Originally Posted by Graham_Yvr

Perhaps we could get back on topic here? These posts are more suited the Vancouver Business Thread. Just my two bits.

Agree and I hope the mods would be able to transfer these posts to another thread. It's an interesting topic to discuss.

[officedweller]

PCs vs Tablets - That's just the difference between work-related and "social" uses.

For work, you need a physical keyboard - hard to draft 100 page contracts or 500 page reports without proper word processing capability. Even MS Word has many limitations on formatting and styles (try drafting an agreement with different auto numbering styles in the main agreement and each of multiple schedules (that originate from different sources, which have adopted different numbering schemes)). Ughh.

For social uses, you're largely accessing data that is already available on-line.

[jlousa]

*mod hat on*
Okay guys back to the building, move the other talk to an appropriate thread.

[officedweller]

Pic by me today:

[SFUVancouver]

I have a parking question: will an allotment of parking spaces for Pacific Centre be redistributed to the office tenants? I parked down there on the weekend and noticed that there are renovations occurring on the bottom parking level and I'm wondering whether they were to install gates, etc., or just related to the plumbing/electrical/HVAC(?) needs of the renovation. Also, will the City's bike storage facility and 'stalls' per 1,000 sq.ft. ratios for office buildings apply to the office component of the reno?

[officedweller]

Parking is reserved for office tenants with signs that say Reserved 24 hours - no gates - and they just seem to reserve more and more spaces as time goes on.

See page 24 of the Building Info Guide for existing bike facilities - don't know if they'll be expanded.

http://www.pacificcentreoffice.com/e...ges/Forms.aspx

[spm2013]

...

[Jebby]

Does anyone know the utilisation rates of bike spaces in the large office towers downtown?

[officedweller]

Pic by me yesterday:



Pics by me today -

More interior skin at the corner



More retail glass (2 panel as the sidewalk drops southwards) at grade on Granville.



More steel up at the rotunda entrance.

[Prometheus]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Pic by me yesterday:

Thanks for the update.

Is that yellowish square patch behind the scaffolding the stone cladding?

[officedweller]

Hey, I didn't even notice that (I walked through the hoarding and crossed the street) - it could be.

[nickbeaulieu]

oh god, I hope not.

That robson/Granville corner seems to be more of a focus for them now... they got that 2nd row up fast.

[Graham_Yvr]

Originally Posted by Prometheus

Thanks for the update.

Is that yellowish square patch behind the scaffolding the stone cladding?

No, it isn't. I walked by and it's insulation in preparation for the stone cladding...happily!

[officedweller]

Here's a pic by me from today:

The beige stuff is insulation (but based on renders could be similar to the final stone colour)



Protruding steel has been installed for the next level along Howe:
(Cool that it looks to float from this angle since the fins create a "solid" wall)



Curtain wall is being installed in the north atrium:

[s211]

Walking down Granville Street at around 11:15 AM today, I was amazed at the solar heat being reflected off the windows down to street level. Not egg-cooking hot, but it was unexpected how warm the radiated heat felt.

Just an observation.