Get a sneak peek at new-look World Exchange Plaza as landlord eyes ‘amazing’ retail names for revamped complex

The owners of the newly renovated World Exchange Plaza are bringing in a “well-known” coffee retailer and seeking a restaurant to fill space formerly occupied by the LCBO as they try to keep pace with other downtown landlords that have modernized their properties in a bid to entice workers back to the office. 

The owners of the newly renovated World Exchange Plaza are bringing in a “well-known” coffee retailer and seeking a restaurant to fill space formerly occupied by the LCBO as they try to keep pace with other downtown landlords that have modernized their properties in a bid to entice workers back to the office.  QuadReal Property Group, which manages the two-tower, 675,000-square-foot retail and office complex just south of Parliament Hill, is “very close” to announcing a deal that will see a prominent coffee chain move into a new 1,700-square-foot retail space on the ground floor next to the Albert Street entrance, a senior executive told OBJ on Wednesday. Peter Costa, senior vice-president of office, Eastern Canada at QuadReal, also said the property management firm is “working hard” to secure a restaurant tenant to take over the 4,600-square-foot former LCBO space on the southeast corner of the ground floor. The changes are part of a major revamp of the World Exchange Plaza, which opened more than three decades ago and is owned by the British Columbia Investment Management Corp. and RBC Global Asset Management. The first phase of the complex was completed in 1991 and the second phase was finished in 2001. The three-year renovation project included a complete renovation of the complex’s first two floors and a significant makeover of the third floor, which features a new fitness centre as well as communal desk space and private meeting rooms. Other additions include a new outdoor amphitheatre and a pop-up retail pavilion on the corner of Albert and Metcalfe streets. QuadReal worked with Ottawa-based Chmiel Architects as well as architecture firms Arcadis IBI and Benoy to create the retail and office complex's new look. Several new food retailers have moved into the complex, which is following in the footsteps of other nearby commercial properties, such as Constitution Square and the Sun Life Financial Centre, that have also undergone major renovations in the past few years. Costa wouldn’t put a price tag on the project, saying only the cost was “very significant.” But he said the plaza’s owners expect the investment to pay off in the long run amid an ongoing trend that’s seeing more and more office tenants relocate to smaller spaces in higher-quality buildings as they rethink their real estate needs in a post-pandemic world. “I think that tenants, if they’re going to commit to space, are looking at redesigning their space … I think, at the same time, they’re looking for the landlord to provide those amenities so their employees can come to work, spend the whole day here,” he said.  “They want to go for a workout or they want to go out for lunch with their friends here at WEP. They can go out to the amphitheatre and hang out outside and enjoy the landscaped areas out there.”  The complex’s retail component is currently about 33 per cent vacant, with 15,000 square feet of space available for lease. Costa says QuadReal expects to finalize up to five additional deals with new tenants by early 2025. On the office side, the vacancy rate sits at about 10 per cent. Most of that is on two empty floors that were occupied until last year by law firm Norton Rose Fulbright, covering a total of 44,000 square feet. That space is now being renovated, and Costa said he’s confident it won’t remain vacant for long. “Despite the challenges in the market, we’ve seen tours increase; we’ve seen multiple tenants looking at the same space,” he said. “With this renovation, I think it really puts WEP on the map for some of the best amenities in a mixed-use office complex in the downtown core.”