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BUSINESS NEWS WARE MALCOMB ANNOUNCES CONSTRUCTION IS COMPLETE ON HISTORIC RENOVATION OF PARADISETHEATRE INTORONTO WareMalcomb , an award-winning international design firm, announced construction is complete on the historic renovation of Paradise, located at 1006 Bloor Street West in Toronto, Ontario. Ware Malcomb’s Vaughan office provided architecture and interior design services for the project. Originally opened in 1937 in Toronto’s Bloorcourt neighbourhood, the heritage- designated Paradise building recently reopened following the highly anticipated renovation. The project involved converting the existing theatre into a multi-functional venue including a theatre, restaurant and bar. In addition to offering a curated mix of newly released films, older classics, undiscovered gems, themed seasons and event cinema, Paradise Theatre also features live music, comedy, talk series and multi-arts events. In the redesigned space, patrons can now enjoy in-seat dining in the theatre balcony, dining at the full-service Osteria Rialto restaurant,

cocktails at Bar Biltmore, and snacks in the lobby. “We are proud to play a part in continuing Paradise’s incredible legacy for the next century,” said Frank Di Roma, principal of Ware Malcomb’s Canada operations, including offices in Vaughan and Toronto. “In redesigning the space as a fully functional theatre, restaurant and bar, the new Paradise has solidified its landmark status in Toronto.” Built in the Art Deco and Art Moderne styles, the building was given heritage designation in 2007. Working along with ERA Architects the protected heritage aspect of the exterior façade/reconstruction of the main building facing Bloor Street, great care was taken to limit refinishing and maintain the appearance of the original façade and signage in compliance with heritage requirements. Architectural details included utilizing existing masonry, a curtain wall, aluminum composite panels, metal siding, and steel frames combined with infill glazing units. In addition to the unique challenges associated in renovating a heritage site, other challenges included waterproofing and providing thermal

bridging throughout the existing century-old building. The General Contractor for the project is Northern Structures Limited. Established in 1972, Ware Malcomb is an international design firm providing planning, architecture, interior design, branding, civil engineeringandbuildingmeasurement services to commercial real estate and corporate clients. With office locations throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico, the firm specializes in the design of commercial office, corporate, industrial, science and technology, healthcare, retail, auto, public/educational facilities and renovation projects. Ware Malcomb is recognized as a Hot Firm and Best Firm to Work For by Zweig Group. A 1937 heritage-designated Art Deco venue in Toronto’s Bloorcourt neighbourhood, Paradise reopened in December 2019 following a highly anticipated renovation. Paradise offers a unique, welcoming experience through food, drink and the arts. The building on this site has operated as a cinema since 1910.

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social media, or highlighted on your website. They may also come in handy with your project specific pursuits. Get the facts. Have testimonials. Show challenges overcome. Use the project success metrics that reflect your clients’ priorities. 7)Organize online discussion groups of clients and potential clients in each of your target market sectors. If you are the organizers of these kinds of forums you can learn so much! And they will help establish your firm as a resource to their “industry.” I don’t know why more firms in our business don’t try to do this. Seems like nearly free marketing. 8)Build a new press list and start sending out press releases. You need a lot of names of editors in all types of media. General news media, client sector specific media, and design industry media. Press lists of 30 people won’t cut it. You need 300 or 600 or 1,000 names to increase the probabilities of getting what you send them in print. It’s a numbers game. And make what you send them more interesting than a braggartly, cliche-filled project description! 9)Hold a BD training session and include anyone who could potentially be calling or meeting with clients and potential clients. Talk about matters such as what to say the first time you call a client, how to ask for a meeting, when to pass off the baton to someone else in your firm, and more. And be sure to include some of the younger people who have expressed an interest in marketing and business development. It’s important to them and they could actually be helping generate project leads. Again – none of these is a panacea. All of these things do, however, have the potential to bring you new clients, opportunities, and projects. So let’s try them out! MARK ZWEIG is Zweig Group’s chairman and founder. Contact him at mzweig@zweiggroup.com.

then “connect” with all the people there who could possibly be involved in a decision to use your firm. The university president or chancellor, university architect, head of the physical plant, dean of students, board members, deans, etc. Once you do this for all of your targeted clients see if they are on Twitter and follow them there. They may very well follow you back then. This is how you intelligently expand your social media networks. “There probably is no ‘magic bullet’ you can use to get the work you need. You will have to do many things to bring in new clients and/or new projects. Some of these may seem small and insignificant, but together they can make a difference.” 4)Change the nature of your social media to make your posts either more entertaining or more useful or helpful to your client base. Original research data, interesting tidbits on your key people, obstacles overcome in projects, and much much more are all things you’ve got available to you. Employee pets, home work spaces, or social distancing message are all passé at this point. 5)Solicit firm-wide support for your new social media program so everyone in the firm follows you and your company, and likes, comments, and shares your posts. Send a message to all employees. Talk about this. Get them all involved and using their personal networks to expand the reach of your social media posts. 6)Develop “project success stories” or cases that you can share. These can be used as stand-alone pieces, referenced in

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THE ZWEIG LETTER MAY 25, 2020, ISSUE 1346

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