Canadian Facility Management & Design

September 2001

WEBSITE COMBINES OFFICE-SPACE SEARCHES, PROJECT MANAGEMENT VIA THE INTERNET
A service has been launched over the Internet by Real Facilities Inc., Toronto, to help organizations assess their commercial space needs and locate available space in the Greater Toronto Area from a database of properties which is continually updated to identify premises as they come on the market. The service is backed by a staff of real-estate professionals who represent clients to complete leases and can assist them in project management, through Parker Project Management, Toronto.

The company also works with local firms to provide access to services such as interior design, construction, installation of technology and purchase of furniture. The concept, says founder and President Stan Krawitz, is to provide corporate space users with a "simple, one stop shopping vehicle to find, lease, outfit and manage their corporate facilities."

The website can also act as a hub for communication between the client organization and its service providers, whether the clients' own preferred suppliers or the firms Real Facilities refers clients to. Password-based access control ensures that information such as budgeting is accessible only by authorized people. A manager can use the website to calculate space requirements by entering, through a chart displayed on the screen, the number of different types of offices required, from small cubicles to large executive offices. The website will display the amount of space required and will show the number of premises available to fulfill the requirements. Organizations that are clients of Real Facilities will also be shown a list of the premises and their locations, and can narrow down the search by region within the GTA.

As a client clicks on the name of each listed premises, the screen indicates details, such as the estimated
gross rent and access to the downtown Path system of underground walkways. Real Facilities can also estimate the cost of a project including interior design, construction, technology and furniture. Its real-estate professionals will advise on the conditions of each building.

As a project proceeds through the acquisition and build out of space, a chart is displayed by the website showing when each stage has been met.