Ross Ventures Offers Inspiring Work Spaces In Historic And Modern Buildings
FREDERICTON – When New Brunswick-based startup IntroHive first moved their Fredericton operations into Argyle Place, a newly renovated office building downtown, they knew it was the perfect place to set up shop.
“[Ross Ventures] had a vision of this being a modern workplace. They wanted to take a historical building but make the inside modern and make it conducive to IT and emerging technology firms,” says David Goyette, general counsel at IntroHive.
“They knew there was a certain demographic that works in these companies and they wanted to make it look slick and sexy. They had a unified vision about what they wanted with this.”
What they liked just as much as the building itself was the Ross Ventures team itself.
Ross Ventures has been in business in Fredericton for 50 years. Family-owned and locally based, IntroHive found them easy to reach whenever they needed something, big or small.
“We can easily talk with the person who is going to make the decisions. I can call Jeff Yerxa, the company’s CEO, or I can call Amy Ross, one of the owners. If we need something, we get a hold of them,” says Goyette. “Their maintenance people are maybe one degree of separation from the management team. When they want to get something done, they get it done.”
This is something Ross Ventures takes pride in, says Amy Ross, part of the companies second generation.
“In the second generation of a family business, you have opportunities to reflect on which direction to go in,” she says. ” We’ve developed real estate among other businesses over the last 50 years and we’ve made the conscious decision to continue that investment in Fredericton.”
Having a local landlord is especially rare in commercial real estate, even in smaller cities like Fredericton. Most office buildings in the city’s downtown are owned by national or international firms. Ross says tenants prefer to work in locally owned and operated buildings because the service is tangibly different.
Ross Ventures is also a smaller team, which means it has the ability to be flexible and work directly with tenants to plan their space in any of their 5 commercial properties.
“We’re a small business, so we’re able to be nimble and creative. We are able to accommodate the evolving needs of today’s office users in a way that larger companies may not be able to so quickly.” says Ross
With Argyle Place almost full, Ross Ventures is focused on their newest development, 140 Carleton Street in downtown Fredericton, which is under construction and will be ready for occupancy in Spring 2020.
Ross describes 140 Carleton as a strikingly modern mixed use building with a sophisticated feel. The five-story office tower features floor-to-ceiling windows, and smart building technology to increase tenant comfort & reduce energy costs. We’ve put human comfort and environmental sustainability at the forefront of the design.
The development also includes the attached adjacent parking garage the company acquired before moving ahead with the project.
The building will have retail on the ground floor with a mix of professional tenants on the remaining floors. The tenant mix to date are legal and financial services. “We’re in discussion with a number of tenants at the moment but we welcome all inquiries both office and hospitality.”
“It is our hope that this development will be an inspiring and purposeful business hub that contributes to the urbanization of downtown. This aspect is so significant to our company that we’ve recently acquired the property across the street to ensure that it’s developed into a commercial or residential property that elevates this important corner and the view from 140 Carleton.”
Moving offices is a big investment and decision for any business, big or small. With lots of different options on the market, Goyette recommends any business looking have their office in Fredericton to check out Ross Venture’s offerings.
“They really try to accommodate any vision that somebody may have and they try to make things work. One of the things that’s really nice is that any big decision that needs to be made, you’re actually speaking with the decision-makers,” says Goyette.
“It’s not going to get phoned into Toronto. You’re actually dealing with the people that have the vision that make good decisions.”
This story was sponsored by Ross Ventures.