CPR moving to Ogden -who will be the next out of the core???

[billybob123]

Have you seen that old Alstom area where they're going to build? This "warehouse" would be an improvement!

Not exactly an area for fancy architecture.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

Article in the Herald about the move and the new building in Ogden.

...


Wow, what a piece of crap. A 2 floor "warehouse" for all of their office staff. I'll at least give IOL credit for breaking up their suburban campus at Quarry Park into multiple buildings and more floors.

I can't help but think that quite a few of the 1100 resumes at CP are being updated now.

As though working in the rail yard wouldn't have been enough for them to already have done that...

[Bigtime]

Originally Posted by Rathji

As though working in the rail yard wouldn't have been enough for them to already have done that...

Perhaps, but the new location didn't have to be a bad thing if it was designed well and offered some tangible benefits for the office workers versus GCS. Now the employees are seeing that they will be working in the equivalent of a WalMart building.

[billybob123]

The new building will have a gym, running track, cafeteria and green spaces. Sounds much nicer than their old hq.

Do people really care what their office building looks like on the outside? Especially if you're in an office or cubicle all day.

[Regulator75]

Originally Posted by billybob123

Do people really care what their office building looks like on the outside? Especially if you're in an office or cubicle all day.

Communists don't.

[Barnes]

It's beautiful. Reminds me of old Windsor station mixed with a Costco. Van Horne would be proud.

[Ducay]

Originally Posted by billybob123

The new building will have a gym, running track, cafeteria and green spaces. Sounds much nicer than their old hq.

Do people really care what their office building looks like on the outside? Especially if you're in an office or cubicle all day.

What good are all those amenities when 50% of your stations don't have a window or natural light?
CP has pretty much a carte blanche with the available space and they could have separated into 2 semi attached buildings and ended up with a much more pleasing design. You'd be surprised how much appearance, etc, plays on employee morale and retention.

[ah123]

Originally Posted by Rathji

As though working in the rail yard wouldn't have been enough for them to already have done that...

Yup. They're already having problems filling corporate positions because salaries and benefits are not very competitive with other large Calgary computers, so this is going to make life really interesting over there.

[BlackArcher101]

I had no idea office workers were this picky.

[Northendzone]

Sounds to me like the building on the inside and the immediate outside area will be nice.

The surrounding neighbourhood, not so good.

[Violator]

Looks like an IKEA.

They should build a Bantrel style office like the one off Glenmore.

[I-Hate-Hulse]

Originally Posted by billybob123

The new building will have a gym, running track, cafeteria and green spaces. Sounds much nicer than their old hq.

Do people really care what their office building looks like on the outside? Especially if you're in an office or cubicle all day.

The "running track" is outdoors, not indoors, so it's only good warm months of the year. Between that and the "green space" being outside in the bucolic splendor of Ogden and an Industrial Park (isn't the chicken plant nearby too?) - I'm not sure how much these amenities will help morale. Is Ogden still sketchy as it was 10 years ago? If so, they may need to razor wire the area around this park.

From my experience with "turnaround" situations - I suspect they are actively trying to move as many positions as they can out of Calgary to cheaper places in Canada/US. This is a pricey town, and if you have the option of putting people in cheap places like Winnipeg - I suspect they will.

[nik-]

Industrial Office Parks are on par with cubicles in terms of soul crushing ability. I'm sure there will be some horrible "cafe" that microwaves frozen burgers and fries.

[Kavvy]

Originally Posted by nik-

Industrial Office Parks are on par with cubicles in terms of soul crushing ability. I'm sure there will be some horrible "cafe" that microwaves frozen burgers and fries.

So... Ikea?

[Zarley]

CP's offices in Montreal:


Toronto:


Minneapolis:


and Calgary

[OldDutch]

Originally Posted by BlackArcher101

I had no idea office workers were this picky.

People are picky because they can be. A "great labor" shortage is a big problem with companies, since average salary of the employees you most need is pretty good everywhere. Add to that a shift by many people not to live in their car 2 hours a day, and wanting to walk to meet friends for lunch and coffee that may work for another company.

Things are so tight now, that companies need to look past "we are paying you good, so suck it up" to "we know your a in demand person who could work just about anywhere, so what can we do to make your life easier."

I'm not saying this will always be the case, as soon as another big recession hits, I am sure people will be less picky. However, as it stands now, people in demand (who work downtown) can choose from many good paying jobs. So if a company is making your life a bit worse, you can always just ship pretty easy to a new place. That is the reality for companies trying to attract top talent in Calgary.

EDIT: I would also add that the way Calgary is designed is pretty much the reason for this. It is designed with good transit to only one place, downtown, feeding from the burbs. Add to that, the fact that roads here suck compared to the interstate in the US. Also add that urban sprawl has Calgary the same size as NYC for land size, so you have one end of a city to another super far apart, so a deep south location becomes a huge pain. Then top it off with how companies have treated employees the last thirty years as cattle, and employees are not going to move across town for a place they figure they will be at 2 years tops (loyalty is dead).

Anyways, it is like a perfect storm that the city, the developers, and companies all have a hand in creating.

[RinkRat]

Use of the Toronto building is non-existent may have been sold already.
Montreal's staff is being brought into Calgary in August.
That is the old Minneapolis building no longer in use.

GCS is a sub par building to work in, always dirty looking, pluming always backed up, and the bonus of expensive downtown parking Vs free at Ogden. All in all the move to Ogden is viewed pretty well by the staff I work with. Minus the people who live a block away from GCS.

[ah123]

Originally Posted by I-Hate-Hulse

From my experience with "turnaround" situations - I suspect they are actively trying to move as many positions as they can out of Calgary to cheaper places in Canada/US. This is a pricey town, and if you have the option of putting people in cheap places like Winnipeg - I suspect they will.

There were rumours earlier that some groups (HR & IT) would be re-located to Winnipeg, so that might still be in the works.

[Redliner]

Originally Posted by RinkRat

Use of the Toronto building is non-existent may have been sold already.
Montreal's staff is being brought into Calgary in August.
That is the old Minneapolis building no longer in use.

GCS is a sub par building to work in, always dirty looking, pluming always backed up, and the bonus of expensive downtown parking Vs free at Ogden. All in all the move to Ogden is viewed pretty well by the staff I work with. Minus the people who live a block away from GCS.

This.

Those heritage buildings are admittedly very cool but CP vacated most of them long ago. There are only a handful of people remaining at Windsor Station in Montreal, and word is they will all be moved to Calgary by the end of the year.

CP left the old Soo Line building in Minneapolis about a year and a half ago, and are now located in a more modern building called (surprise surprise) Canadian Pacific Plaza. It looks like this:



CP's Toronto office is actually in Mississauga and again is a modern-style building:



There is also an office in Winnipeg, where they share a building with Air Canada. CP has been moving some of its employees from Calgary out there. (the ones who were willing to go) Again, it's a modern econo-box building:



The trend is definitely to move towards modern buildings and away from the heritage properties, which is unfortunate but also much smarter from a financial perspective. The move to Ogden, to a building they own located on land that they own, is expected to save CP ~$16M per year. Gulf Canada Square is actually a pretty crappy building as far as DT offices go, and I can't see the Ogden facility being any worse even if it does look like a Superstore.

[Azure]

If it saves them $16 million per year, they could at least offer a bit more to the employees in terms of perks.

I don't think the look of the building is such a big deal, but a comfortable work environment is extremely important.