Daniel Peritz voted business personality for April

In Verdun, Canderel is known for building the head office of Bell Canada in L'Île-des-Sœurs. During the inauguration of the new premises last autumn, Canderel president Jonathan Wener reminded invitees that this complex is the second largest real estate project in the island of Montreal. It is, in fact, the most important project of the decade. To accomplish this task, it was essential to have a competent and exceptionally efficient team to complete the building’s construction within an imposed deadline and at the same time to adhere to very strict construction standards. However, finishing the tasks on schedule and under difficult circumstances did not constitute the biggest challenge for the company. Readers will recall that in the fall of 2006, L'Île-des-Sœurs did not have the municipal infrastructure to accommodate 4,000 Bell employees and executives who were expected to arrive into the island every day two years later. It was first necessary to reach an agreement (far from being negligible) with Bell executives regarding all aspects of this major work – a turning point for Bell.

Daniel Peritz insists: it was team work at all levels; unceasing involvement was required from the different parties. He did not want to mention names lest he’d forget some of them, but he did name BCE president Michael Sabia, architect Brian Burrows of Architex and Samuel Gewurz of Proment. He also wanted to highlight the fact that Canderel benefitted from the extraordinary cooperation of officials and municipal managers of Verdun Borough and the City of Montreal.

Canderel’s involvement in L'Île-des-Sœurs started in 1986; it was a time when discussions were being carried out with Samuel Gewurz to build an office building for Honeywell. A few years later, a formal agreement enabled the establishment of commercial developments for various locations in this area of Verdun.

Canderel’s corporate culture targets the improvement of quality of life in the island and respect for the environment – this culture is mirrored in the northern tip project. Daniel Peritz beamed with pride – and with good reason – for the awards and compliments that Canderel has received. Last March, it received the Excellence Award of the IDU in the business category for the Bell complex. Bell should be receiving the LEED accreditation shortly. A few days ago, Canderel announced that the building located in 14 Place du Commerce had achieved level 2 of the BOMA BESt certification. This week, it was learned that BOMA Quebec handed the Building of the Year award for its Cité du commerce électronique (e-commerce city).

Daniel Peritz is convinced that Bell executives are extremely pleased with their decision to establish their headquarters in L'Île-des-Sœurs. Testimonials prove that employees are highly appreciative of their new environment even if they haven’t yet enjoyed the attractions that the island will be offering, especially with summer coming. Because of road work, traffic inconveniences will continue for several months. The buildings occupied by Bell are now owned by a European company, but Canderel remains as manager for the complex and will be responsible for providing quality of service to building occupants.

Canderel still owns a few lands in L'Île-des-Sœurs and different projects are planned for the construction of future buildings that will service high-end tenants. While continuing to manage several major buildings, it will soon be completing the 1215 Philipps Square Building, a 30-floor tower in downtown Montreal. The company’s offices are located in 2000 Peel Street and are also active in the Toronto real estate market.

In spite of the economic slowdown, Daniel Peritz believes that there will still be room for detail-oriented managers regarding quality and service. These two criteria remain as Canderel’s priorities and are the reasons for the numerous successes of Canderel.

Photo Peritz 17

Photo : canderel 17