IBM Canada this week officially opened its flagship office located at 16 York Street in the heart of downtown Toronto’s entertainment district. The company had initially announced it would open the office space in November 2021.
Spread over three floors and covering approximately 63,000 square feet, this flagship office combines the company’s four Toronto-based offices into a single flexible workspace. It includes an AI and hybrid cloud client showcase centre, collaboration spaces for use by both employees and clients, and space for IBM Garage, a globally recognized design approach to innovation and digital transformation.
The offices being merged are currently located on Spadina Avenue, Bloor Street, King Street, and Wellington Street. The company’s Canadian headquarters will remain in Markham.
Present at the ribbon-cutting celebration on April 25 were Toronto Mayor John Tory, IBM Canada President Dave McCann, and IBM Canada Technology general manager Frank Attaie. IBM Canada says its decision to transition to a hub design was accelerated when virtual work environments became commonplace.
“Our vision for this flagship location was to create a dynamic space that would welcome IBM employees from our Toronto-based offices and bring them together as One IBM Canada Team to collaborate, innovate and support our clients and each other in our new hybrid way of working,” McCann said in an email to IT World Canada. “We feel great pride in 16 York as our new home in Toronto and we look forward to contributing to and participating within the local Toronto community. This also aligns with our efforts to attract top talent in this great city.”
The company said it has filled approximately 800 job positions in the Greater Toronto Area within the past six months across a range of functions, surpassing its initial hiring expectations to accommodate 500 new employees in the flagship office. The company has recruited people for various areas of its business, including the IBM Technology unit, IBM Services, IBM Garage and more.