The pandemic has prompted a reimagining of urban space that may change the way we live.
Not only would this benefit owners of the real estate and building tenants, but it would also have a compelling social benefit for communities and the city.
Last year, together with Desjardins, and the on-site Colliers property management team, Rosenberg, and urban growers/consultants Hoffmann Hayes, created the first garden of its kind in the Colliers network, converting the land in front of the Desjardins office building at 95 St.
Rosenberg reflects: “We were not sure whether food would grow on the busy St.
The garden helped engage occupants and the community by providing a place where owners, tenants and locals could connect through a common purpose.
What was once traditional office landscaping was converted into a food garden that grew more than 400 pounds of kale, plus onions and herbs that were donated to The Stop Community Food Centre in Toronto.
“Our thinking is this: Instead of only concrete, mowed grass, or decorative landscaping, why not add an area of native plants that support the environment.
As managers of real estate, we have an opportunity to manage these spaces in ways that enhance the real estate, benefit our communities, and support the environment.
Colliers manages more than 64 million square feet of commercial real estate in Canada.
The David Suzuki Foundation further supported the drive by acknowledging the Colliers Edible and Pollinator Gardens as contributors to the City’s Butterfly Way Network.
As edible and pollinator gardens become established on Colliers’ properties across Canada the sites will most certainly become community hubs.
There was no shortage of volunteers to help tend the soil, sow seeds, plant, weed, water, and harvest last year.
“This is very much a team effort.
The pollinator garden program is flexible, can be created on a site that is office/retail or even industrial, and is easy to implement,” said Rosenberg.
Imagine if we then inspire other Colliers’ offices in other countries to do the same with the real estate they manage.
“Imagine, if we inspired our competitors and others in the real estate sector.
We are hopeful that condo owners with a balcony and homeowners with some real estate will be inspired by the Colliers Edible and Pollinator Garden Program.
His son Ben is a fourth-generation urban gardener and graduate of the University of Guelph and Dalhousie University in Halifax.
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