Office Space: Standing on Higher Ground
Many law firms lease office space from banks. Here’s one firm that did it the other way around.
Some couples dream of building their very first home. One law firm in Kelowna, B.C. decided to go one better — they built their own law office.
In 1989, Pushor Mitchell LLP bought an old funeral home and made plans to demolish it. Over the next several years, they hired architects, engaged interior designers and consulted staff to determine the layout of the new building. The partners’ spouses formed a limited company to own the building, secured leases with tenants, and obtained financing from the bank with no money down. By 2002, the firm was a proud homeowner.
Today, the three-storey red-brick Pushor Mitchell Building stands at the busy corner of Ellis Street and Highway 97 in downtown Kelowna. The bottom two floors are leased by tenants — a bank and an insurance company, ironically — while the top floor belongs to the law office.
The designs incorporated ample parking for the firm’s older clientele, as well as a large rooftop deck. “The staff can sit out in the sun during their breaks,” says partner Paul Mitchell. “It’s also great for entertaining. We’ve had Chamber of Commerce functions here with 400 people.”
The building was designed to provide room for the firm to expand in 25 to 30 years. But both the firm and Kelowna grew faster than anticipated, and Pushor Mitchell is now adding a fourth floor, creating 14 more offices. The firms’ office manager doubles as the building manager, and rental fees pay part of her salary.
“It makes sense to build your own building, because you are the master of your own destiny,” says Mitchell. “We control the leases. When leases come up, we can take over more space — we’re not at the beck and call of landlords. A lot of firms move into a building and it’s full, and they have no room to grow.”
He adds that because interest rates are low, now is a good time for other firms in small and medium-sized markets to think about constructing their own buildings.
— Sarah Efron
Adapted from National magazine, June 2006.
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