Back. United in the spirit of giving

Transcription

1 United in the spirit of giving Giving Back For 15 years now, the Brookfield Place community has helped grant the wishes of seriously ill children by supporting the work of Starlight Children s Foundation Canada through its annual Campaign for Wishes & Dreams. The tenants and suppliers of Brookfield Place show their community spirit by supporting a wide range of charities. Year in and year out, one of the nearest and dearest is Starlight. Starlight wishes provide unforgettable experiences to children from 4 to 18 and their families who are dealing with serious, chronic or life-threatening illnesses. Whether it s a trip to Disney World or the chance to meet a favourite celebrity, the anticipation and reality of the wishes brightens the lives of children coping with serious illnesses. The Brookfield Place community has been an integral part of this effort. Every year, the Campaign for Wishes & Dreams generates more and more donations. By 2006, the ninth year of this partnership, the campaign reached $1 million raised. The milestone was celebrated with a Thanks a Million event in the Allen Lambert Galleria featuring a special performance by the Radio City Rockettes. Starlight Children s Foundation Canada is extremely grateful for the significant support from Brookfield Place in fulfilling our mission to transform the lives of seriously ill children and their families through education, entertainment and the granting of wishes. Christopher Barry, President of the Foundation Since Starlight s inception in 1989, the organization has granted over 2,500 wishes. The Brookfield Place community alone has been responsible for the equivalent of over 665 of those, by raising more than $2 million since their first mission of dream fulfillment in This is an incredible collective achievement. As a Platinum Star corporate sponsor, Brookfield Place has made a profound impact on Starlight s success, and to lifting the spirits of the children who are touched by the group.

2 Every year, the Campaign for Wishes and Dreams culminates in the property s holiday lighting ceremony, enjoyed by Brookfield Place tenants and the general public. It is a proud tradition in the history of the complex, and a symbol of its ongoing commitment to serving the community. The impact of Brookfield Place s support is reflected in the memories and smiling faces of the children whose wishes were granted through the Campaign for Wishes & Dreams. Aleisha s wish, granted this year, is one such example: Aleisha is a young girl who has faced multiple health challenges ever since birth. She was born with a cleft lip and palate and hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol), and before her fourth birthday had a left breast radical mastectomy. She is the youngest known person in Canada to have survived breast cancer. This sweet and whimsical young girl, with a love for animals and music, had a simple wish. For her sixth birthday, she wanted to visit the Butterfly Conservatory in Niagara Falls and have dinner at the Rainforest Café. Starlight put up Aleisha and her family at the Sheraton on the Falls for three nights. Everyone had an amazing time, and for the main event Starlight arranged for the Butterfly Conservatory to take Aleisha, her mother and her uncle on a private adventure. The highlight was a butterfly release, a poignant moment as it symbolized Aleisha s freedom from treatment and a new promise for her future. Later that day, the Rainforest Café threw a surprise birthday dinner, with a visit from Maya the leopard. Aleisha was also surprised with her first ever sparking volcano cake. She made a birthday wish that she surely will never forget.

3 Looking Back Over the past 20 years, countless words have been written about the development, architecture and significance of Brookfield Place. The perceptions of the people who know the complex best have special meaning those who were involved in its very planning, who have worked behind the scenes to make the building run smoothly, and who have been longtime tenants and suppliers. In their own words, some of these people describe just what Brookfield Place continues to mean to them: I was Senior Vice President of BCE Developments where I had the honour of leading the development of what was then BCE Place. After we incorporated the historic properties on Wellington and Yonge Streets into our land assembly in 1986, we focused on how to make the development stand out, and stand the test of time. With nearly a full city block to work with, we decided that in addition to having a critical mass, our competitive advantage was that we could provide large and attractive people spaces at grade. After much thought about what could make the development great, we decided to focus on two larger buildings and push them to the edges of the Bay and Wellington Streets. This allowed us to provide a large south facing outdoor courtyard, as well as a mid-block indoor street and square that would connect the Bay Street business district with the heritage streetscape we chose to preserve along Yonge Street. One decision that I am particularly proud of was our plan to integrate our contribution to public art into the fabric of the development, in part by bringing a young Santiago Calatrava to North America for the first time to incorporate his unique and inspirational style into the design of the Galleria and Heritage Square. I am delighted that the end result of our frenetic efforts in those early years has certainly lived up in every way to our hopes and expectations! Andrew Lennox, Senior Vice-President, Scotiabank Real Estate The Canadian Business Hall of Fame at Brookfield Place celebrates the unfolding story of Canada s great business leaders. Junior Achievement of Canada appreciates Brookfield Place s role in helping to preserve the history of Canadian business and inspire youth to develop an appreciation of business and the role it plays in Canada s economic prosperity. Stephen Ashworth, President and CEO (acting), Junior Achievement

4 After the complex opened and tour groups would go through here, I would see and hear them, and I had a hard time not jumping in. I have an immense feeling of satisfaction and pride in the project, which hasn t changed over the years because everything looks exactly like it did when it was built. Brookfield Place has a personality all its own. It reflects a modernistic approach, but isn t connected to any particular design fad. It s timeless. Tonu Altosaar Senior Partner, B+H Architects For the people who work in the area, having child care here on site is such an important part of their work-life balance. I started working here in April, 1991 and it s amazing to think that so many of the children we ve nurtured over the years are young adults now. I ve even seen some of them come back here, doing a job placement downtown while they re in university. We feel so proud to have given them a strong foundation to help them develop into who they are now. This isn t just an office building to us, it s our neighbourhood. You can see that on Halloween, when our pre-school and Kindergarten classes parade through the concourse and into the food court, showing off their costumes. There s a real sense of community. Debbie Nystrom Manager, Mothercraft Centre for Early Development Housekeeping tells you a lot about how office practices evolve. We started when the complex opened, and can remember walking through a plywood tunnel to get between the towers. There wasn t much recycling in those days, so no green bins for food waste, and lots of fax sheets in the wastepaper baskets. People smoked too. The food court had ashtrays that needed to be cleaned. Then came smoking in designated areas, and finally a smoking lounge on the Concourse Level. All of that has changed for the better. Our job is cleaning, but we feel that we are contributing in a small way to the better environment of the complex. When people s environment is in the best condition, it helps them to perform at their best. I was hired as a Building Operator in January, The size of this project allowed for detail on an unimaginable scale. Today, as General Manager of Technical Services, I view my role as caretaker of a magnificent structure marble, granite, steel and glass all come together to excite your senses. I believe it s the only commercial office complex on the official tour route, and to me, that says it all. Peter Frith General Manager, Technical Services When I came over here for my first tour, the south building was open but it wasn t connected yet to the north building. I went through, surrounded by scaffolding, and saw the beautiful atrium. I was sold. I opened my store in the shopping concourse, then moved up to the street level in I ve been at Brookfield Place for 20 years now, and this September, I m starting my 40th year in business. My tailor has been with me 39 years, so he s been here the whole time too. I m now getting second generation customers into the store people who bought suits from me and brought their children in carriages, are now bringing them back to get their first good suit. I m in the style business, and I can tell you that Brookfield Place doesn t look like your typical office building. It has a certain air to it. When I moved here, I never once questioned the decision. I think I have the best location in downtown Toronto. David Pace Owner, PACE Men s Collection Solar has been cleaning the windows of Brookfield Place since its inception it s a cornerstone of our portfolio. I ve seen the city hanging from many different rooftops, all these different views. But out of all the structures I work in, the one that stands out is Brookfield Place. Between the two towers, there are just over 13,000 windows. I ve touched every one, inside and out. One of my favourite views, and it has nothing to do with being high up, is walking through the Galleria at different times of the day and year. You see how the shadows fall across the floor depending on the reflection in the windows. It shows that the building is alive. Neal Dance President, Solar Window Cleaning What s our favourite part about working here? The views from the high floors. When we re working in Bay Wellington Tower, you can see clear across to Buffalo. Julia Romanini and Patricia Cardoso Housekeeping, Unicco Integrated Facilities Services

5 Citings, Credits & ACKnowledgements CITINGS 1 City of Toronto. (2006). City of Toronto: Heritage Conservation Districts - Union Station District Plan. toronto.ca Official website for the City of Toronto. Retrieved June 6, 2012, from toronto.ca/heritage-preservation/hcd_union_station.htm 2 Williams, S. (1987). The Spirit of Place. Toronto: BCE Development Corporation. 3 Cilento, K. (2012, May 11). AD Interviews: Santiago Calatrava. ArchDaily. Retrieved August 13, 2012, from com/ 4 Arthur, E. R. (1964). Introduction.Toronto, No Mean City (p. xi). Toronto: University of Toronto Press. 5 Annau, E. (1992). Disparate Aspects of BCE Place. The Canadian Architect, 37(8), Annau, E. (1992). Disparate Aspects of BCE Place. The Canadian Architect, 37(8), PHOTO CREDITS The Art of Architecture: Construction images 1 5, courtesy of: Wayne W. Baigent, VP Engineering, Canron Ltd. (Eastern Structural Division) Scoring with Fans: Wayne Gretzky: Dave Sandford / Hockey Hall of Fame The Stanley Cup: AJ Messier / Hockey Hall of Fame Grand Opening: Doug MacLellan / Hockey Hall of Fame Acknowledgements Canadian Institute of Steel Construction Giving Back: Aleisha s Wish reprinted with permission of Starlight Children s Foundation Canada Certain information contained in this retrospective has been obtained from published sources and from third parties. None of the parties involved in the production of this retrospective assume any responsibility for the accuracy of such information.