World Exchange Plaza facts for kids
The World Exchange Plaza is a large group of office buildings and shops in Downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It takes up a whole city block. This block is between Metcalfe and O'Connor streets. It is also south of Queen Street and north of Albert Street.
The first part of the plaza was finished in 1991. This building has twenty floors. It was special in Ottawa because it looked very unique. One side of the building has a big open area. This area looks like the ancient Roman Colosseum. When it first opened, it was hard to find people to rent offices. This was because of a tough economic time. But things got better in the 1990s. Then, work started on a second tower. This second tower was finished in 2001. It added a lot more office space to the plaza.
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What's Inside the World Exchange Plaza?
Offices and Businesses
The two tall buildings in the plaza have offices for many different companies. Some well-known companies include Deloitte, Microsoft, and CTV. Other businesses like Accenture and TD Canada Trust also have offices there. You can see big logos on top of the towers. One tower has the TD logo. The other tower has the BLG logo.
The Shopping Area
There is a shopping mall at the bottom of the plaza. This mall has many stores for people to visit. It also used to have a movie theatre. This was the only cinema in the downtown area. The movie theatre closed on December 29, 2013. This happened because Landmark Cinemas could not renew their rental agreement.
Before Landmark Cinemas, Empire Theatres ran the cinema. They operated it from 2005 to 2013. And before that, Cineplex Odeon ran it from 1991 to 2005. The space has been empty since 2013. Now, the owners want to turn it into more office space. In 2017, a company called Klipfolio Dashboard became the first big tenant for this new office area.
Unique Decorations
Inside the shopping mall, you can see some cool decorations. There are life-size models of narwhals and beluga whales. These models hang from the ceiling. They are a fun and interesting sight for visitors.
Who Manages the Plaza?
The World Exchange Plaza is managed by a company called QuadReal. They manage it for another group called the British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (bcIMC).
