When it comes to perception, Oxford Properties nomination in the Office Development of the Year category for 111 Richmond St W in next months NAIOP Rex Awards (celebrating excellence in CRE) reps a sea change of sorts for a company seen as one of Canadas big, central, conservative A players. We have re-positioned it as a boutique office building in a large A-Class complex, says Oxford VP of real estate management David Costello. It speaks to the whole movement of live/work/play downtown, the revitalization of the area. Young people want to work in a vibrant environment like that. (Generation Y prefers every technological advancement except for transportation. They prefer to walk.) Six months after it opened, it's 93% leased. It demonstrates that we have an entrepreneurial spirit, and we are nimble enough to come up with concepts that are outside the norm.

Business is never so healthy as when, like a chicken, it must do a certain amount of scratching around for what it gets. Henry Ford. Send story ideas and your favorite quotes tomark.keast@bisnow.com.