Article
CBRE Finds SMART Technologies a New HQ in Calgary’s Beltline District
July 21, 2025 4 Minute Read
CBRE’s John Fisher helped homegrown SMART Technologies relocate from the burbs to a new headquarters in Calgary’s centrally located Beltline District, inking a lease for 83,000 sq. ft. at 11th Avenue Place.
“It’s a great story highlighting a mid-sized Canadian tech user re-entrenching in the market where it started,” says Fisher. “There are fewer tech companies making moves right now in Canada, so this deal really stands out.”
“There were many incentives being tossed our way to move our HQ from Calgary to somewhere else, technically we could go anywhere in the world but chose to stay here,” says SMART Technologies CEO Nicholas Svensson.
“We couldn’t have asked for a better outcome, the location is great, the building is new, the landlord was willing to work with us on our custom requirements, the contractors and city hall all worked together to get us in on time.
“And CBRE was excellent at helping us navigate through all of it.”
Getting the deal done required no shortage of improvisation and innovation on Fisher’s part. “In complicated markets,” he says, “you’ve got to be creative.”
Evolving Office Space
SMART Technologies, owned by Foxconn and founded in 1987, is perhaps best known as the developer of interactive whiteboards branded as the "Smart Board.”
The company had been based at an office it design-built at University Research Park on Calgary’s outskirts since 2012. The space was no longer serving SMART; Fisher says the pandemic had changed the way the company viewed working in the office.
“Offices have become more about amenitization and collaboration and the energy of being around others. So SMART realized that maintaining ‘the way things were’ was an impediment to their evolution.”
Many Moving Parts
The deal involved several moving parts. Fisher first had to get SMART out of its existing lease so a new entity could purchase the building at University Research Park. It was a “monumental challenge” to move SMART from the 200,000 sq. ft. space.
He found the ideal replacement tenant in a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) school looking for space in Calgary. “They loved the idea of occupying an old tech company headquarters so they could bring in high school students to teach them about tech and STEM careers,” Fisher says.
He then had to work out a lease termination for the existing tenant at the 11th Avenue space, which happened to be a client of his, before SMART could move in.
“When we went to survey the market, the solution SMART wanted didn’t exist,” Fisher says. “It came down to a relationship I had with another client who I knew was over-indexed on space. We managed to execute the relocation entire deal in 60 days; usually these things can take two years.”
Fisher subsequently relocated the existing tenant at 11th Avenue Place and right-sized their space requirements.
“It was a win-win-win,” he says. “Because of our relationships and market knowledge, we were able to find an option that wasn’t publicly available, and it turned out to be the perfect solution for SMART: a LEED Gold building with great exposure and access to all the amenities in Calgary’s downtown core.”
“All our employees who have visited or currently work at HQ are blown away by the positive change,” Svensson says. “The layout is purpose built for the work we do. It’s bright, open and reflects our brand well.”
Beltline Buzz
Fisher and his team had scoured the city in search of a new home for SMART and ended up finding the perfect fit in the Beltline District, which he calls “one of Calgary’s most robust districts.”
It’s a few minutes from the downtown core, and a half dozen of Canada’s best restaurants are within walking distance of SMART’s new HQ. There’s also a residential boom occurring in the area, with thousands of units under construction. This promises to bring even more amenities and vibrancy to the district.
“It’s where 25- to 35-year-olds want to be in the city,” says Fisher. “SMART is now in the middle of the action and it has greatly improved the energy of their company.”
The Space That Keeps on Giving
SMART’s old building had five different levels and three wings per level. “In relocating, we created a more collaborative environment that not only improves the employee experience but is also conducive to what they do, which is innovation,” Fisher explains.
“And innovation is usually derived from people coming together and working on complicated projects and creating a more lively and vibrant atmosphere.”
Their office has been right-sized into a rectilinear layout at 11th Avenue Place, versus floors and wings, “so when people are in the office you see them. It feels energetic and you pick up on the vibe.
Svensson says SMART was “delighted and impressed” with the result of Fisher’s efforts.
“Not only were they able to move to a location more conducive to their business needs but they fostered the next generation of tech talent at the STEM school because of the legacy improvements they’d made to their former building,” says Fisher.
“Their old space will help develop the talent they’ll probably end up hiring in five to 10 years.”
A SMART move for all concerned.
Recent Insights
-
The seven-storey office building is being built on top of a restored former 100+ year old warehouse, combining the aesthetic of a century-old brick and beam structure with the functionality and sleekness of new, state-of-the-art office space.
-
CBRE’s Jeremy Deeks and John Fisher helped relocate ATCO to a new office building in downtown Edmonton, one of the city’s largest and most impactful office relocations in over a decade.
-
CBRE has sold seniors residence The Hygate on Lexington in Waterloo, ON, to Sienna Senior Living Inc. for $93.3 million.
Stay In The Know
Subscribe today and join hundreds of professionals who get the latest blogs delivered straight to their inbox.