Competition for office space in downtown Calgary is pushing up rents.

Prime office space that's open at 10 a.m. one morning may be gone by noon the same day, says Mark Purdy, a downtown office leasing associate with real estate firm CB Richard Ellis.

While predictions are tough given the market's fluidity and its need to respond to atypical moves such as Imperial Oil's fourth-quarter decision to relocate its head offices to Calgary, Purdy says Calgary's current office vacancy rate probably hovers around eight per cent. That's already the lowest rate in Canada - and it could drop to six per cent by year's end.

Downtown employees who feel closer to their colleagues aren't imagining things, either, says Purdy. While office leasing space agreements used to calculate about 250 sq. ft. per employee (including common spaces), that's dropped to about 180 sq. ft. Some of the rationalization has come through the adoption of more compact working areas, spawning a whole new generation of workplace furniture.

Mike Sturk, Business Edge
Architect Robert Pashuk added a more corporate image to a street-level employment office.

The task of reconfiguring existing office space means there's no opportunity to redo the original bricks and mortar. Still, Calgary architect Robert Pashuk says these jobs present their own creative challenges and he likens the chance to wed form and function of existing space to the practice of "interior architecture."

A crisis of form and function defines the space dilemma Calgary's Manpower office faced last year when corporate chiefs learned extra space would be available in their building at 734 7 Ave. S.W.

The private human resources service company already occupied much of the third floor of Life Plaza. But with 1,500 people a week walking through those third-floor doors, many of them just wanting to drop off resumes or complete applications, that space was already over-subscribed, recalls Manpower vice-president Byrne Luft.

The new space, an additional 1,600 sq. ft., wasn't ideal either. A former beauty salon and convenience store located just off the street-level entrance, it was two floors away from the third-floor office.

That's when Pashuk and associate Nicole Howard got involved - and helped the company prove the floor differential could be an advantage, especially since the new location was just off the LRT tracks and gave the company a new "public presence on the street," says Pashuk.

The new space, which opened last fall and has had several months to establish its success, was purposefully designed to build on Manpower's corporate image. There's no doubt the dark walnut-coloured panelling and leather chairs in the reception area set a sophisticated tone and avoid what the company feared could be a "soup kitchen" look, complete with a packed waiting room of people looking for jobs.

Smaller than a traditional waiting room and fully visible from the street and main building foyer, the new reception area breaks with tradition and provides a short-wait intake space. Clients waiting for interviews or training are directed to a more private space behind the reception area, explains Howard.

The latter is less visible from the street and is shielded from those in the front foyer entrance. From the reception area, which will eventually be equipped with electronic application forms, Manpower staff can call their clients into one of five new private interview areas, or into two separate training rooms. A movable partition allows the training rooms, both equipped with movable furniture, to be converted to a single training area or meeting space, says Pashuk.

The new space reinforces Manpower's image as a Fortune 200 company and conveys to staff and clients "that you're working with a very good outfit," says Luft. He says the firm, a staple in Calgary's HR employment services for more than 45 years, appreciated Pashuk's ability to deliver form and function in an office environment with classic design and durable materials. The longevity of this kind of space planning and design serves the company well, says Luft.

Placing an intake office just off the street-level entrance increases walk-in traffic without burdening the firm's third-floor office functions, adds Luft.

"It's quite small space and it does a lot of things for (the company)," notes Pashuk. Pointing to details such as lower ceilings, contemporary but functional lighting in the interview area, a well-placed coffee station and durable flooring, Pashuk adds, "if anything, I would say that what we did in this case was interior architecture."

Cardiology Consultants of Calgary has hired Pashuk's services several times to guide renovations to its Bridgeland clinic. Executive director Leslie Austford says Pashuk has helped the health-services company develop a less clinical look, changes appreciated by staff and clinic clientele.

The largest private- group practice of cardiology in the country, Cardiology Consultants is opening new clinical space in a new building, Sunpark Plaza, on Macleod Trail this June. Again, Pashuk leads the design process, giving staff a chance to rethink their workspaces while ensuring their technical needs are met.

Importing the outside expertise of someone such as Pashuk makes economic sense, notes Luft. He credits the architect with helping Manpower maximize the new space, including the marketing potential of its new location.

"Calgary has one of the densest downtown cores in North America," adds Purdy. There's 32 million sq. ft. of commercial space located within a few blocks, but little of it is available if a company needs 20,000 sq. ft. or more of space. (The market can still accommodate companies needing less space, insists Purdy. "You have to pay for it, but there's still a lot of open space.") With prices on the rise and vacancy rates on the decline, Purdy recommends companies get in step with the new reality. That means dealing with lease agreements well before the term's up - and being prepared to sign the proverbial bottom line a little more quickly should prime space be available.

(Joy Gregory can be reached at joy@businessedge.ca)