Commercial Real Estate Podcast: Recent Episodes

Commercial Real Estate Podcast

100% Canadian. 100% Commercial.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate.

What can we learn about life, leadership, and the Canadian real estate landscape from someone celebrating his retirement after nearly three decades as the President and CEO of Canada’s largest publicly traded apartment landlord?

In this celebratory episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, powered by First National, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk are joined by Mark Kenney, former President and CEO of CAPREIT. Following his recent retirement after nearly three decades with the company, Mark shares his candid perspectives on Canada’s housing affordability crisis, rental markets, immigration, and the forces shaping apartment performance.

He explains why national housing narratives often overlook critical local differences, and why employment, population growth, and supply are essential to understanding market health. He also reflects on leadership, retirement, building strategy, and where investors can find value as capital markets, replacement costs, and housing fundamentals continue to shift.

What you will learn:

How to recognize when it’s time to leave a role
Why the “affordability crisis is solved” narrative is dangerously wrong
The three-pillar framework for assessing apartment market health
Why your most expensive apartments are paradoxically your most affordable
The optimal apartment building size is 130 units, not 200+
How to identify the real inflection point in real estate

Mark Kenney is the former President and CEO of Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (CAPREIT), with nearly three decades of leadership in Canadian multi-family real estate. During his tenure, he led portfolio modernization, geographic expansion, strategic acquisitions, and capital allocation across Canada, the Netherlands, and Ireland. A respected voice on housing, investment, and market fundamentals, Mark has served on the boards of REALPAC and FRPO and remains a frequent contributor to BNN Bloomberg and other media outlets, offering candid perspectives on Canada’s housing market.

The post Canada’s Housing Crisis Isn’t What You Think: Mark Kenney, Former President and CEO of CAPREIT appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE Podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate.

This is one of the episodes our audience keeps coming back to, and we’re putting it back in front of you because it deserves a wider audience than it got the first time. The arguments Dermot makes are just as sharp today as when we first recorded them, arguably sharper.

What if the biggest barrier to solving Canada’s housing crisis isn’t capital or construction capacity, but zoning itself? In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk sit down with Dermot Sweeny, Founding Principal at Sweeny&Co Architects, for a provocative conversation challenging the fundamental assumptions behind how Canadian cities regulate development. With nearly four decades of architectural practice spanning office, residential, hospitality, and institutional projects, Dermot argues that zoning has become the single greatest impediment to building livable, affordable, and sustainable cities.

The conversation explores why front yards represent wasted land, how Victorian-era fire codes still dictate modern building design, and why corner stores require council debates in 2026. Dermot shares lessons from Tokyo, Rome, and Paris on density done right, explains how industrial design principles from boats and trains could transform micro-unit living, and makes the case for why eight-story mid-rise buildings on underutilized employment lands could solve Toronto’s housing shortage without touching farmland.

What you will learn:

Why zoning has been antithetical to building great cities
How industrial design from boats and trains can transform micro-unit living
The economics of mid-rise intensification in underutilized neighborhoods
Why front yards represent the most wasted land in Canadian cities
How Victorian-era building codes still block housing innovation
The real cost breakdown of government charges in new housing
Why collective amenities matter more than private space in urban living
How to build housing under $2,000 per unit while maintaining 7% returns
What Canadian cities can learn from Tokyo, Rome, and Paris on density

Dermot Sweeny is the Founding Principal of Sweeny&Co Architects, an architecture firm he started in his twenties that now employs over 55 people across a diverse portfolio of work. With 38 years of practice, Dermot has led design on over 7 million square feet of high-performance office buildings, innovative residential projects, and landmark institutional developments. His firm was responsible for Toronto’s first two-story open loft new build in 1987 and has pioneered green technology, raised floor systems, and tenant-driven workplace innovation across major projects including TELUS House, Loblaw’s headquarters, and BMW’s Canadian headquarters. Known for challenging conventional thinking around zoning, density, and sustainability, Dermot brings both sides of his brain—technical rigor and creative vision—to every conversation about the future of Canadian cities.

First-time listener or repeat visitor, this is the kind of conversation that rewards a second look.

The post Greatest Hits: Rethinking City Building: A Radical Case Against Zoning with Dermot Sweeny, Founding Principal at Sweeny&Co Architects appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. What if the global geopolitical churn is actually creating opportunities to realign your portfolio?

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, powered by First National, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk are joined by Carlo Timpano, President of Capital Developments, about the forces reshaping Canada’s residential development market. Carlo explains why developers are increasingly turning to purpose-built rentals as condo financing becomes more difficult, and how regulatory changes have improved rental project viability.

The conversation explores lender expectations, land valuations, unit sizing strategies, and the importance of choosing established neighbourhoods that support long-term demand. Carlo also makes the case that today’s condo pricing may present compelling opportunities for first-time buyers.

What you will learn:

Why “boring lenders” killed the condo market
The three regulatory shifts that made rental viable
How to underwrite rental when lenders won’t assume rent growth
The suite size myth debunked with data
Why neighborhood selection is the primary amenity for rental success
The honest case for condos as wealth-building tools

Carlo Timpano is President of Capital Developments, where he oversees the company’s day-to-day operations and strategic growth initiatives. Previously, he co-led high-rise office development at Oxford Properties Group, managing a pipeline exceeding $5 billion. With experience at Boston Consulting Group and Bain & Company, Carlo brings deep expertise in strategy and real estate development. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a B.Comm from Queen’s University. An avid traveler, amateur astronomer, proud father, and horror movie enthusiast, Carlo is passionate about building exceptional teams and lasting stakeholder relationships.

The post The Future of Condo Development in Canada Explained by Carlo Timpano, President of Capital Developments appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. What if the global geopolitical churn is actually creating opportunities to realign your portfolio?

In part two of a two-part episode on State of Lending on the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, powered by First National, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk discuss the latest developments affecting borrowers, developers, and lenders across the country. They explain how a sharp increase in Canada Mortgage Bond liquidity is creating more competition among lenders while examining the long-term impact of the large wave of construction loans set to mature in 2027 and 2028.

The conversation also covers major CMHC policy changes taking effect on September 30, including tougher energy efficiency standards, stricter application requirements, and the likelihood of longer approval timelines as applications surge. Aaron and Adam also discuss why lenders are placing greater emphasis on net effective rents, updated stabilized expense assumptions, and realistic project schedules. This episode provides practical guidance for anyone financing, developing, or investing in Canadian commercial real estate.

What You Will Learn:

How to navigate the Canada Mortgage Bond liquidity explosion.
Why the September 30 energy efficiency requirement change will create a backlog at CMHC
The ACLP maturity tsunami coming in 2027-2028 and why CMHC’s $20 billion capacity increase was essential
How to underwrite apartment rents correctly using net effective rates, not face rents
The stabilized expense increase across Canada, especially Quebec’s material jump.
Why stricter CMHC application timelines are now enforced

The post State of Lending Part 2: Canada Mortgage Bond Liquidity & CMHC Policy Changes with Adam Powadiuk and Aaron Cameron appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. What if the global geopolitical churn is actually creating opportunities to realign your portfolio?

In part one of a two-part hosts-only episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, powered by First National, Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk discuss the current state of lending in CRE. They discuss why Canada’s commercial real estate lending market is awash with capital, but far fewer deals are getting done. Adam and Aaron unpack the forces reshaping financing across the country, from historically tight lending spreads to the ripple effects of the condo construction slowdown.

They explain why conventional apartment construction financing has largely disappeared, how recent CMHC policy changes have altered developers’ financing strategies, and why certainty is becoming more valuable than pricing alone. The conversation also explores the widening gap in credit pricing across asset classes, the surprising recovery in office financing, and the continued struggles facing land development. Whether you’re borrowing, lending, or investing, this episode provides a timely snapshot of Canada’s rapidly evolving commercial lending landscape.

What You Will Learn:

Why a surplus of capital is collapsing spreads to historic lows
How the death of condo construction is flooding alternative lending markets
The critical exit risk that’s keeping conventional construction financing out of apartments
How CMHC’s rental achievement policy change eliminated an entire financing alternative
The steep credit curve that makes risk pricing unpredictable for non-AAA assets
Why office is staging a comeback while land continues to deteriorate

The post State of Lending Part 1: Why Capital Is Chasing Too Few Deals with Adam Powadiuk and Aaron Cameron appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. What if the global geopolitical churn is actually creating opportunities to realign your portfolio?

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, powered by First National, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk are joined by Michael Lambert, President and Managing Partner at WHITNEY & Company Realty Limited, Brokerage, to explore how smaller markets across Southwest Ontario are becoming major opportunities for commercial real estate investment. The conversation examines how institutional capital is moving beyond the GTA, why municipalities are playing a larger role in shaping development, and what infrastructure challenges are impacting growth.

Michael shares insights on emerging secondary markets, shifting investor strategies, the rise of grocery-anchored retail, and how a regional water crisis has created uncertainty for development across Waterloo Region. This episode offers valuable perspectives for developers, investors, and brokers navigating Ontario’s evolving real estate landscape.

What you will learn:

How to identify emerging markets before they saturate
The demographic and infrastructure drivers unlocking smaller market growth
Why less than 50 major players are controlling Southwest Ontario’s $20M+ deal flow
The water crisis paralyzing Waterloo Region’s development pipeline
How retail is becoming the hottest asset class despite e-commerce growth
The municipal land strategy that could reset private land pricing

Michael Lambert is the President and Managing Partner of WHITNEY & Company Realty Limited, Brokerage, a fifth-generation family-owned commercial real estate brokerage based in Waterloo Region with over 100 years of market expertise. With a unique background transitioning from professional snowboarding, including World Cup competition and Olympic participation, to commercial real estate, Michael brings disciplined, process-oriented thinking to market strategy and development. His perspective is invaluable for investors, developers, and brokers seeking to understand market maturation, institutional capital influx, and strategic positioning in Canada’s dynamic commercial real estate landscape.

The post Beyond the GTA: How Southwest Ontario’s Hidden Markets Are Attracting Capital with Michael Lambert, President of WHITNEY & Company Realty Limited, Brokerage appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. What if the global geopolitical churn is actually creating opportunities to realign your portfolio?

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, powered by First National, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk are joined by Marlon Bray, EVP at Clark Construction Management, for a candid discussion on the forces reshaping Canadian commercial real estate. Recorded at the Southwestern Ontario Real Estate Forum, the conversation explores why the housing crisis is less about construction capacity and more about regulatory complexity, fragmented municipal systems, and rising development barriers.

Marlon shares insights on the condo market slowdown, the growing opportunity in purpose-built rental, the impact of government policy, and why cities like Kitchener-Waterloo and London could become major growth hubs. This episode offers developers and investors a strategic look at navigating uncertainty and finding opportunity in the next phase of the market.

What you will learn:

How to stop blaming construction costs and identify the real culprit
Why the HST incentive works where DC waivers fail
The municipal approval system is broken by design, not intent
Condo development is mathematically broken until resale markets recover
Purpose-built rental is a government-backstopped solution, not a market victory
The shortage ahead creates a “no-lose” bet for patient developers in good locations
Why Southwest Ontario cities should be Canada’s next major growth engines
How lenders’ conservatism protects the market in downturns but constrains growth today

Marlon Bray is an Executive Vice President at Clark Construction Management, bringing decades of industry expertise to the commercial real estate development space. With a background spanning construction, pre-construction services, and cost consulting, Marlon has developed a distinctive perspective on the systemic challenges facing Canada’s housing market.

The post The Housing Crisis Is a Systemic Problem: How to Fix Canadian Real Estate with Marlon Bray, EVP at Clark Construction Management appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. What if the global geopolitical churn is actually creating opportunities to realign your portfolio?

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, powered by First National, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk are joined by Jason Castellan, Co-Founder and CEO of Skyline Group of Companies, to explore how Skyline has built a $10.5 billion real estate portfolio by focusing on secondary and tertiary markets across Ontario. Jason shares the investment philosophy behind identifying resilient communities, why markets tied to strong local ecosystems create long-term opportunity, and how municipal partnerships are unlocking major development projects.

The conversation covers navigating affordability challenges, building trust with investors during market uncertainty, and using technology and AI to improve property management. Jason also explains why patient capital, community-first thinking, and disciplined execution continue to drive sustainable growth in commercial real estate.

What you will learn:

How to identify recession-proof secondary markets using a simple thesis
Why direct investor relationships are your competitive moat
The municipal negotiation playbook
How to reverse-engineer affordability into pro formas
Why AI adoption today determines competitive advantage tomorrow
How supply-demand fundamentals favor patient capital

Jason Castellan is the Co-Founder and CEO of Skyline Group of Companies, where he leads the company’s strategic direction across real estate investment, development, asset management, and investor relations. With experience in acquiring, owning, managing, and financing income-producing real assets since 1991, Jason has helped grow Skyline into a major Canadian real estate organization. He is known for his community-focused investment philosophy, emphasis on long-term investor relationships, and entrepreneurial leadership. Jason is also a graduate of Ivey Business School’s QuantumShift program and has been recognized as one of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40.

The post The $10.5B Blueprint: How Skyline Built a Real Estate Empire in Secondary Markets with Jason Castellan, Co-Founder and CEO of Skyline Group of Companies appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. What if the global geopolitical churn is actually creating opportunities to realign your portfolio?

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, powered by First National, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk are joined by Anthony Passarelli, Lead Economist for Southern Ontario at CMHC, to examine the forces reshaping rental housing markets across the region. Anthony explains how trade uncertainty, shifting demographics, and record levels of apartment construction are creating a temporary period of softer rents and rising vacancies in markets such as Hamilton, Kitchener, London, Windsor, and Niagara.

The conversation explores why this adjustment may present opportunities for long-term investors, the growing divide between purpose-built rentals and condo rentals, and the challenges developers face as projects become harder to finance. They also discuss government-backed lending programs, affordability concerns, and which Southern Ontario markets are best positioned for future growth.

What you will learn:

How to evaluate investment timing across Southwest Ontario markets
Why the “2-3 year softening window” represents opportunity, not crisis
The critical difference between purpose-built and condo rental underwriting models
How trade uncertainty acts as a psychological brake on housing decisions
Why the unsustainable construction peak in London and Kitchener requires policy support.
Why St. Catharines and Niagara lag behind Hamilton in rental construction

Anthony Passarelli is the Lead Economist for Southern Ontario at CMHC, specializing in commercial real estate market analysis across key regions including Hamilton, Kitchener, London, Niagara, and Windsor. With deep expertise in rental market dynamics, demographic trends, and economic policy impacts, Passarelli combines data-driven analysis with ground-level market intelligence gathered through extensive client engagement and presentations. In this episode, he provides critical insights into Southern Ontario’s rental market softening, the sustainability of current construction levels, and the long-term implications of trade tensions and demographic shifts on housing demand. His work at CMHC, including participation in multi-lender working committees and policy development, has shaped Canada’s approach to rental housing affordability.

The post Rising Vacancies, Softer Rents, and What Comes Next with Anthony Passarelli, Lead Economist at CMHC – Southern Ontario appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. What if the global geopolitical churn is actually creating opportunities to realign your portfolio?

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, powered by First National, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk are joined by Braiden Goodchild, VP of Capital Formation and Strategic Transactions at Equiton, to examine why multifamily remains one of Canada’s most compelling real estate sectors. Braiden explains how Equiton creates value by acquiring properties with significant rent gaps and driving returns through renovations, operational improvements, and disciplined asset management rather than relying on market appreciation.

He discusses the importance of fiduciary responsibility, investor education, and flexible capital structures when working with institutional and private investors. The conversation also explores AI-powered property operations, purpose-built rental development strategies in commuter markets, and the demographic trends that could sustain rental demand and create attractive multifamily investment opportunities for years ahead.

What you will learn:

How to capture 25-30% value gaps through unit renovation and rent growth strategies
Why fiduciary duty and investor education are non-negotiable
The “Structure Agnostic” Capital Raising Framework
How operational AI integration now drives 100% of real estate returns
The “Belt Strategy” formula for purpose-built rental viability
Why demographic headwinds favor multifamily for the next decade

Braiden Goodchild is Vice President of Capital Formation and Strategic Transactions at Equiton, a vertically integrated real estate investment and asset management platform managing $1.7 billion in assets under management. With extensive experience spanning municipal planning, development consulting, investment banking, and international real estate advisory, including leading PwC’s 80-person real estate M&A practice in London, Goodchild brings a sophisticated perspective on capital markets and transaction structures.

The post Finding Hidden Value in Multifamily Real Estate with Braiden Goodchild, VP of Capital Formation and Strategic Transactions at Equiton appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. What if the global geopolitical churn is actually creating opportunities to realign your portfolio?

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, powered by First National, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk are joined by Bliss Edwards, EVP at SmartStop Self Storage, to unpack why self-storage is emerging as a major asset class in Canada. Bliss explains how a significant supply gap, especially compared to the US, is creating long-term investment opportunities.

The conversation explores how urban density is driving consistent demand, why location strategy hinges on proximity and visibility, and how technology is transforming pricing and operations. From cluster-based expansion strategies to AI-driven revenue management, this episode outlines why self-storage is evolving into a sophisticated, high-growth segment of commercial real estate.

What you will learn:

How to leverage Canada’s massive supply gap to drive investment returns
Why density, not dislocation, is the primary demand driver in Canada
The revenue management framework that replaces human pricing with AI-driven optimization
How to identify viable markets using population thresholds and cluster strategy
Why location matters more than amenities in self-storage, and how to define “location” correctly
The operational shift from opening doors to running a sophisticated business

Bliss Edwards is Executive Vice President, Canada at SmartStop Self Storage, with over a decade of experience in the self-storage industry. He specializes in strategic growth, market expansion, and operational excellence, helping transform the sector into a sophisticated, institutional asset class. With a background in urban planning and municipal development review, Edwards combines vision with execution, positioning SmartStop as Canada’s leading self-storage builder while delivering consistent value to customers and stakeholders.

The post Why Self-Storage Might Be CRE’s Hottest Bet with Bliss Edwards, EVP at SmartStop Self Storage appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. What if the global geopolitical churn is actually creating opportunities to realign your portfolio?

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, powered by First National, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk are joined by Vlad Volodarski, CEO of Chartwell Retirement Residences, to discuss the massive demographic shift transforming Canada’s seniors housing sector. Vlad explains why the country faces a critical shortage of retirement living supply as the 80+ population accelerates over the next two decades. The conversation explores how operators are redefining seniors housing as a lifestyle-driven experience rather than a care-focused necessity, drawing lessons from Quebec’s successful retirement living model.

They also discuss the operational impact of the pandemic, the challenges posed by construction costs and regulation, and why Chartwell exited long-term care to focus on scalable retirement communities. The episode offers valuable insights for investors, developers, and anyone tracking the future of Canadian real estate.

What you will learn:

Why Canada needs to build 200,000 seniors housing units in the next decade
How to reposition seniors housing from a “last resort” to an aspirational lifestyle choice
The Quebec advantage
Why long-term care and retirement living don’t mix operationally
The demographic math behind 20+ years of sustained growth
How pandemic-era operational lessons are now embedded into Chartwell’s growth strategy

Vlad Volodarski is the CEO and Corporate Director of Chartwell Retirement Residences, Canada’s largest and most prominent seniors housing operator, with over two decades of leadership experience in the retirement living sector. Vlad has a background in mechanical engineering and accounting. He has navigated the evolution of seniors housing from a fragmented sector to a specialized, high-growth industry, serving as CFO, Chief Investment Officer, and ultimately CEO, a role he assumed in March 2020 during the pandemic.

The post The Demographic Wave Driving Canada’s Next CRE Boom with Vlad Volodarski, CEO of Chartwell appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. What if the global geopolitical churn is actually creating opportunities to realign your portfolio?

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, powered by First National, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk are joined by Tony Irwin, President and CEO at Rental Housing Canada, for his fourth appearance on the show, to unpack the policy decisions shaping Canada’s rental housing market. The conversation explores federal and provincial advocacy efforts, including Build Canada Homes, development charge relief, and landlord-tenant board reforms, while examining how government policy directly affects development, operations, and housing affordability.

Tony explains why long-term thinking is essential despite short-term market softness, and why stronger collaboration between industry and government is critical to solving the housing crisis. The episode offers practical insight for developers, owners, operators, and industry professionals navigating an increasingly policy-driven market.

What you will learn:

How to navigate dual-level advocacy
The Build Canada Homes opportunity and pitfalls
Development charges reduction strategy
Why landlord-tenant board reform directly impacts housing supply
The danger of short-term thinking in housing markets
How to engage in municipal elections strategically

Tony Irwin is the President & CEO of the Federation of Rental-housing Providers of Ontario (FRPO) and Rental Housing Canada (RHC), representing more than one million rental units nationwide. A respected advocate for Canada’s rental housing industry, he works closely with government and industry leaders on housing policy, affordability, and development reform. Before joining FRPO, Tony led the Canadian Consumer Finance Association and the Justin Eves Foundation. His background also includes senior political leadership roles, including serving as Senior Advisor to an Ontario Premier and Executive Assistant to the Leader of the Official Opposition.

The post Why Housing Policy Is Reshaping CRE Faster Than Markets, with Tony Irwin, President and CEO at Rental Housing Canada appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. What does it take to survive five economic downturns and come out stronger every time? In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, powered by First National, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk are joined by Rick Ilich, CEO of Townline Homes Inc.,...

The post Five Cycles and Still Standing: Building Townline, Rental Housing, and Fighting for Deregulation with Rick Ilich, CEO at Townline Homes Inc. appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. What if the global geopolitical churn is actually creating opportunities to realign your portfolio? In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, powered by First National, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk are joined by Eric Carlson, Core-Founder and CEO of Anthem Properties...

The post The Housing Crisis Isn’t Supply, It’s Policy Failure: Insights from Eric Carlson, Core-Founder and CEO of Anthem Properties Group Ltd. appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. What if the global geopolitical churn is actually creating opportunities to realign your portfolio? In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, powered by First National, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk are joined by Byron Chard, President and CEO of Chard Development...

The post Beyond Supply and Demand: The Future of Canadian Real Estate with Byron Chard, President and CEO of Chard Development appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. What if the global geopolitical churn is actually creating opportunities to realign your portfolio? In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, powered by First National, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk are joined by Sean McCrorie, Vice Chair and Practice Leader at...

The post From Niche to Necessity: The Seniors Housing Surge with Sean McCrorie, Vice Chair and Practice Leader at Cushman and Wakefield appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. What if the global geopolitical churn is actually creating opportunities to realign your portfolio? In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, powered by First National, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk are joined by Tyler Ashby, Partner at GroundBreak Ventures, to unpack...

The post Is PropTech The Real Solution for Housing Affordability? Insights from Tyler Ashby, Partner at GroundBreak Ventures appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE Podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. This is one of our most-listened and most-shared episodes, and we’re bringing it back because the conversation deserves a wider audience. The fundamentals Adrian lays out are as relevant today as when we first recorded, arguably more so. What if the biggest opportunity in...

The post Greatest Hits: Building Against the Cycle: A Contrarian CRE Case with Adrian Rocca, CEO at Fitzrovia appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. What if the global geopolitical churn is actually creating opportunities to realign your portfolio? In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, powered by First National, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk are joined by Carl Gomez, Chief Economist at Centurion Asset Management...

The post Is the Real Estate Reset Stalled, or Just Slower? Insights from Carl Gomez, Chief Economist at Centurion Asset Management Inc. appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. What if the global geopolitical churn is actually creating opportunities to realign your portfolio? In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, powered by First National, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk are joined by Craig Hippern, President and CEO of Mantella Corporation,...

The post Why Industrial Condos Are Beating Rentals with Craig Hippern President and CEO of Mantella Corporation appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. What if the global geopolitical churn is actually creating opportunities to realign your portfolio? In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, powered by First National, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk are joined by Dennis Mitchell, CEO & CIO at Starlight Capital,...

The post Liquidity, Risk, and Real Estate’s Comeback with Dennis Mitchell, CEO & CIO at Starlight Capital appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. What if the global geopolitical churn is actually creating opportunities to realign your portfolio? In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, powered by First National, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk are joined by Thomas Mueller, is a Founding Director of the...

The post Climate Risk, Capital Pressure, and CRE’s Inflection Point with Thomas Mueller, President & CEO at Canada Green Building Council appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. What if the global geopolitical churn is actually creating opportunities to realign your portfolio? In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, powered by First National, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk are joined by Lachlan MacQuarrie, Industry Fellow at Intelligent Building LLC,...

The post Beyond Locks and Cameras: Cyber Risk in CRE with Lachlan MacQuarrie, Industry Fellow at Intelligent Buildings LLC. appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. What if the global geopolitical churn is actually creating opportunities to realign your portfolio? In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk are joined by Jose Pellicer, Co-Founder and Partner at Evonite, for a timely conversation on...

The post How to Build Inflation-Proof Real Estate Strategies with Jose Pellicer, Co-Founder and Partner at Evonite appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk are joined by Sarah Esler, CFA, and Managing Director of Mortgage Investments at AIMCo, for a look inside an $8B institutional mortgage portfolio spanning Canada, the US, and Western...

The post Surviving the Refinance Wall: Lessons from an $8B Portfolio with Sarah Esler, Managing Director of Mortgage Investments at AIMCo appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. What if international pension fund investment could unlock Canada’s housing crisis? In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk are joined by Mark Siezen, CEO of Bouwinvest, to unpack why Dutch institutional investors are increasingly focused on...

The post How Dutch Pension Capital Could Unlock Canada’s Housing Supply Shortage with Mark Siezen, CEO of Bouwinvest appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. What if the “easy money” era in real estate is actually behind us? In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk are joined by Fred Cassano, National Real Estate Leader at PwC, to unpack the 2026 Emerging...

The post Why the Easy Money Era in Real Estate Is Over, with Fred Cassano, National Real Estate Leader at PwC appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. What if solving Canada’s housing affordability crisis was actually simpler than politicians make it? In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk are joined by Aled ab Iorwerth, Deputy Chief Economist at CMHC, for a data-driven conversation...

The post The Housing Affordability Myth Politicians Won’t Touch with Aled ab Iorwerth, Deputy Chief Economist at CMHC appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. What if the biggest barrier to solving Canada’s housing crisis isn’t capital or construction capacity, but zoning itself? In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk sit down with Dermot Sweeny, Founding Principal at Sweeny&Co Architects, for...

The post Rethinking City Building: A Radical Case Against Zoning with Dermot Sweeny, Founding Principal at Sweeny&Co Architects appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. What if navigating a $27 billion portfolio could teach you how to thrive through market cycles? In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk welcome Salvatore Iacono, President and CEO at Cadillac Fairview, for an in-depth conversation...

The post Repositioning Through Cycles: Portfolio Strategy at Scale with Salvatore Iacono, President and CEO at Cadillac Fairview appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. What if the data hidden in your buildings could unlock your next investment opportunity? In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk welcome Mike Maxfield, SVP of Business Technology at Brookfield Properties, to unpack how data is...

The post The Data-Driven Future of CRE with Mike Maxfield, SVP of Business Technology at Brookfield Properties appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. What if the biggest opportunity in Canadian real estate is hiding in plain sight? In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk welcome back Adrian Rocca, CEO at Fitzrovia, for his fourth appearance on the show to...

The post Building Against the Cycle: A Contrarian CRE Case with Adrian Rocca, CEO at Fitzrovia appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. Following strong listener interest, we’re back with another State of Lending special. Canada’s lending landscape is entering a full-scale reset. In this new episode of Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk report from the Global Property Market Forum in Toronto,...

The post State of Lending 2025: What Lenders Want with Adam Powadiuk and Aaron Cameron appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. What if solving Canada’s housing crisis required rethinking how we build, finance, and approve new homes? In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk are at the Canada Builds Modular Symposium, and they sit down with Lisa...

The post How Off-Site Construction Can Fix the Housing Crisis Faster with Lisa Helps, Executive Lead of BC Builds appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. What if Canada’s economic challenges weren’t just about markets, but about how we think and invest? In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk are at the RealREIT Conference and sit down with Bill Robson, President and...

The post The Investment Gap Threatening Canada’s CRE Future with Bill Robson, CEO of the C.D. Howe Institute appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. When capital dries up, only the strongest deals and the most disciplined investors survive. In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk are at the RealREIT Conference and sit down with Justin Smith, President of Hawkeye Wealth,...

The post How to Win in a Tight Capital Market: Insights from Justin Smith, President of Hawkeye Wealth appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk are at the RealREIT Conference and sit down with John Worth, EVP of Research and Investor Outreach at Nareit, to unpack how the $1.4 trillion U.S. REIT market is...

The post The $1.4 Trillion Shift: Inside the REIT Revolution with John Worth, EVP of Research and Investor Outreach at Nareit appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. What if the best real estate investment opportunities weren’t in Canada’s hottest markets? In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk are at the Canadian Department Investment Conference, and sit down with Jamie Cooper, President of Development...

The post Predictability Over Hype: Real Estate Lessons from Jamie Cooper, President of Development & Income Properties at Dream appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk welcome Riz Dhanji, Founder and President of RAD Marketing, about how real estate marketing is evolving across Toronto’s condo and purpose-built rental sectors. Riz shares his expertise on tackling...

The post Mastering Lease-Ups and ROI Through Smart Marketing with Riz Dhanji, Founder and President of RAD Marketing appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk welcome back Jennifer Keesmaat, President and CEO of Collecdev Markee, to discuss the critical moment for modular housing in Canada. Fresh from organizing the Canada Builds Modular Summit, Jennifer...

The post Solving the Modular Puzzle: Path to Mainstream Adoption with Jennifer Keesmaat, President and CEO of Collecdev Markee appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk sit down with Jason Parravano, President and CEO of Plaza Retail REIT, to explore how non-discretionary retail, demographic shifts, and disciplined capital strategies are fuelling growth. From succession planning...

The post Why Retail Spaces are a Great Bet Today: Insights from Jason Parravano, President and CEO of Plaza Retail REIT appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate.

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk welcome Shaun Hildebrand, President of Urbanation, to explore the forces reshaping Toronto’s real estate landscape. They discuss why new condo development is slowing, the limits of purpose-built rentals in filling the gap, policy-driven cost pressures, and the shifting dynamics of downtown and suburban demand. Sean shares data-driven insights on market corrections, supply challenges, and what lies ahead over the next five years of the Toronto real estate landscape.

What you will learn:

Why Toronto condo sales have dropped to their lowest levels since 1993
How the current cycle will lead to virtually zero new condo completions by 2029
Why purpose-built rental construction, despite reaching record levels, cannot offset the decline in condo development
The impact of development charges and government taxes making up 30% of development costs
How rental market dynamics are shifting, with downtown Toronto showing early signs of stabilization
Why a 20% correction in condo prices is needed before the market can reach equilibrium
How population flows and work-from-home trends are reshaping demand patterns in downtown vs. suburban markets
The critical need for policy changes to incentivize both condo and purpose-built rental development
Why small units (under 600 sq ft) face the greatest market challenges, while larger units remain relatively stable
How the conversion from condo to rental developments presents both opportunities and challenges for developers

Shaun Hildebrand is the President of Urbanation, a leading research firm specializing in analyzing high-rise residential apartment markets across Canada. With extensive experience in real estate market analysis, he has established himself as a trusted authority on housing supply, demand dynamics, and market trends. Shaun’s work involves tracking new construction condos, purpose-built rentals, and land markets throughout the Greater Toronto Area, Greater Golden Horseshoe, Ottawa, and Montreal.

The post Toronto Condo Crisis: What’s Next for Developers with Shaun Hildebrand, President of Urbanation appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate.

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk welcome Mike Brady, President of Northwest Healthcare Properties REIT, for a deep dive into the rapidly evolving healthcare real estate sector. From the transformation of medical office buildings into advanced healthcare campuses to the impact of demographics and government spending, Brady shares insights into why healthcare real estate is one of the most resilient and attractive real estate asset classes today. Listeners will learn about tenant dynamics, global market differences, and the strategic opportunities shaping Canada’s healthcare property landscape for long-term investors.

What you will learn:

How specialized healthcare real estate differs from traditional medical office buildings
Why healthcare real estate has become the largest asset class for publicly traded REITs
The economics driving the shift from traditional hospitals to community-based outpatient and surgical centers
How international markets like Australia and Europe are 20-30 years ahead of Canada in healthcare real estate institutionalization
Why healthcare real estate maintains 90% tenant retention rates and 3% annual NOI growth
The role of public-private partnerships in expanding healthcare infrastructure and delivery models across Canada
How specialized building requirements and tenant relationships create high barriers to entry in healthcare real estate
Why government healthcare spending and demographic trends point to continued growth in the sector
The opportunities emerging in key Canadian markets, including Ontario, Quebec, and Alberta, for healthcare real estate investment
The importance of understanding different healthcare delivery models globally to identify real estate opportunities

Mike Brady is President of Northwest Healthcare Properties REIT, a global leader in healthcare real estate investment and management across seven countries. Since joining Northwest in 2006, he has held senior roles, including Executive Vice President and General Counsel, before becoming President in 2023. With over two decades of experience spanning real estate investment, finance, governance, and global leadership, Brady has played a pivotal role in expanding Northwest’s portfolio of specialized healthcare facilities. He holds a joint LL.B./MBA and a BA in Economics from Dalhousie University.

The post Building the Future of Healthcare Real Estate with Mike Brady, President of Northwest Healthcare Properties REIT appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate.

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk welcome Tony Irwin, President and CEO of Rental Housing Canada, to explore the evolving landscape of federal housing advocacy. Tony shares insights on the rebranding and expansion of his organization, current policy priorities like development charge reform, and strategies for engaging government stakeholders effectively. Listeners will learn about emerging initiatives such as Build Canada Homes, the potential return of the MIRB program, and why unified industry advocacy is essential for shaping Canada’s housing policies and addressing the national rental housing challenge.

What you will learn:

How the federal government’s approach to housing policy has evolved over the years
The strategic importance of having unified advocacy across municipal, provincial, and federal levels
Why development charge reform requires specific solutions beyond deferrals to meaningfully impact housing development
How the proposed Build Canada Homes program could reshape federal housing initiatives
The potential impact of reintroducing the MIRB (Multiple-unit Interest Realty Building) program on rental housing development
Why industry advocacy must balance technical complexity with clear, actionable policy recommendations
How industry associations are working to streamline processes between government agencies and housing developers
The critical role of maintaining consistent messaging across all levels of government to achieve effective policy change
Why housing supply solutions require multiple coordinated approaches rather than single policy fixes

Tony Irwin is the President and CEO of Rental Housing Canada and the Federation of Rental Providers of Ontario (FRPO), bringing extensive expertise in rental housing advocacy and policy development. With a career-long background in government relations and lobbying, Tony has been instrumental in shaping housing policy discussions at both provincial and federal levels. In this episode, he shares insights on the evolution of rental housing advocacy in Canada, the current state of federal housing initiatives like Build Canada Homes, and key policy priorities, including development charge reform and the MIRB program. His work in building relationships between the rental housing industry and government stakeholders has helped create more effective dialogue around housing solutions.

The post Driving Federal Housing Policy Change to Address the Housing Crisis with Tony Irwin, President and CEO of Rental Housing Canada appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate.

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk welcome Peter Senst, President of Canadian Capital Markets at CBRE, to discuss the emerging real estate recovery after five challenging years. From his vantage point at a global firm with $170B under management, Peter shares insights on office leasing surging 40% year-over-year, the shift from Chinese to Asian capital flows, and why food-anchored retail has become the hottest asset class. He explains how tariff concerns are actually driving European capital toward Canada and predicts new tower announcements before June 2026.

What you will learn:

How CBRE’s August 2025 revenues jumped 40% year-over-year, signaling market recovery
Why office leasing is experiencing a dramatic turnaround with record rents at CIBC Square
The shift from Chinese capital to Singapore, Japan, and Australian investment in Canada
How food-anchored retail has become the most sought-after asset class for investors
Why apartment rents are declining but fundamentals suggest a 2026 recovery
The impact of geopolitical tensions on global capital flows and Canadian real estate
How institutional capital moved from real estate to infrastructure during the downturn
Why positive leverage (buying at 5%, financing at 4%) is attracting international investors
The productivity challenges facing Canadian workers and return-to-office mandates
How ESG priorities shifted from top-tier to middle-tier during survival mode

Peter Senst is the President of Canadian Capital Markets at CBRE, overseeing investment activities for the world’s largest commercial real estate services firm. With operations in over 100 countries and a market cap exceeding $50 billion, Peter provides strategic insights to institutional investors globally. His role includes managing relationships with sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, and private capital across North America, Europe, and Asia. Peter regularly travels internationally to facilitate cross-border investment and has been instrumental in positioning Canada as an attractive alternative to US real estate amid geopolitical uncertainties.

The post The Real Estate Recovery: Navigating Market Cycles with Peter Senst, President of Canadian Capital Markets at CBRE appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate.

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk welcome Sandy Shindleman, Founder and President of Shindico Realty Inc., to reflect on 50 years of building one of Canada’s leading private real estate companies. From his first mixed-use project in Portage La Prairie to managing a $2.7B portfolio, Sandy shares how patience, low leverage, and disciplined growth fueled long-term success. He discusses strategies for site intensification, diversification into multiple asset classes, and navigating market cycles with conservative financial management. Listeners gain invaluable lessons on resilience, opportunity, and creating enduring value in commercial real estate.

What you will learn:

How maintaining low leverage (17% across portfolio) creates stability and opportunity
Why focusing on site intensification and existing property improvement drives sustainable growth
The power of patient capital: How holding properties for 20-25 years enables strategic development
How to successfully expand from retail into industrial, multi-residential, and mixed-use developments
Why maintaining strong management teams enables continued growth while preserving quality
The benefit of looking beyond traditional metrics (like cap rates) to find value in real estate deals
How immigration and labor markets impact construction costs and development timelines
Why relationship-based lending and conservative financial management create long-term resilience
The importance of maintaining investment discipline even during aggressive market cycles
Why focusing on the next deal while building robust management systems drives sustainable growth

Sandy Shindleman is the Founder and President of Shindico Realty Inc., a leading Canadian real estate company with over $2.7 billion in assets under management. With over 50 years of experience, he has grown Shindico from one mixed-use property into nearly 200 assets spanning retail, industrial, multi-residential, and mixed-use projects. A CCIM Senior Instructor Emeritus, Sandy has shared his expertise worldwide while championing sustainable development and disciplined investment. His leadership and insights continue to shape commercial real estate across Canada’s Prairie regions.

The post Building a $2.7B Real Estate Powerhouse with Sandy Shindleman, Founder and President of Shindico Realty Inc. appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate.

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk once again welcome back Julian Schonfeldt, CFA, CPA, CBV, Chief Investment Officer at CAPREIT. Together, they explore how municipal incentives are helping unlock much-needed rental housing in Mississauga. Julian explains how development charge waivers and tax reductions have made larger three and four-bedroom units financially viable, thereby filling a critical “missing middle” gap in Canada’s housing market. From achieving stronger development yields to transforming CAPREIT’s portfolio strategy, the discussion highlights the power of public-private collaboration to create sustainable rental housing while still ensuring healthy returns for investors and developers.

What you will learn:

How Mississauga’s DC waiver makes three-bedroom rental apartments financially viable
Why development yields need to be 150-200 basis points higher than acquisition cap
The economics behind converting excess land into missing middle housing
How CAPREIT transformed from acquiring vintage assets to focusing on high-quality assets
Why three-bedroom units renting at $3,000/month fill a critical market gap
The unexpected challenges of DC deferrals in construction financing

Julian Schonfeldt is the Chief Investment Officer at CAPREIT, a role he assumed in 2022 after serving as a trusted advisor to the company during his tenure as Managing Director in the Real Estate Group at RBC Capital Markets. With extensive capital markets expertise, he has raised over $15 billion in equity and debt and advised on $10 billion in M&A transactions. Julian holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Carleton University and multiple professional designations, including CPA, CFA, CBV, and US CPA.

The post Unlocking Housing Supply in Mississauga with Julian Schonfeldt, Chief Investment Officer at CAPREIT appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate.

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk sit down with Carolyn Parrish, Mayor of Mississauga, to explore bold policy solutions to Canada’s housing crisis. Mayor Parrish shares how her city is driving development through innovative incentives like deferred development charges, streamlined approvals, and long-term tax reductions for rental apartments. She also addresses strategies for overcoming NIMBYism, encouraging family-sized units, and simplifying zoning to accelerate growth. Packed with practical insights, this conversation highlights how municipalities and developers can collaborate to increase housing supply, improve affordability, and build more sustainable urban communities.

What you will learn:

How Mississauga implemented a comprehensive development charges (DC) reduction program to stimulate housing construction
Why reducing approval timelines through a “three strikes and you’re in” policy can significantly impact development feasibility
The strategy behind reducing property taxes by 35% for rental apartments over 35 years to encourage purpose-built rental construction
How municipalities can effectively manage NIMBY opposition while pursuing density and growth
Why focusing on three-bedroom units and minimum square footage requirements creates sustainable community development
The importance of balancing short-term revenue impacts with long-term community benefits
How partnering with developers to identify and remove bureaucratic barriers can accelerate housing development
The critical role of transit-oriented development in creating sustainable urban density
Why simplifying zoning from 14 categories to just two (large lot and small lot) enables more flexible development options
How municipalities can maintain essential services while deferring development charges to incentivize construction

Carolyn Parrish is the Mayor of Mississauga, bringing extensive public service experience from her roles as both a municipal councillor and former Member of Parliament under Prime Minister Jean Chrétien. With 13 years of experience as a city councillor, she has emerged as a pioneering voice in addressing Canada’s housing crisis through innovative municipal policy reform. In this episode, Mayor Parrish discusses her transformative approach to housing development, including the implementation of development charge deferrals, streamlined approval processes, and strategic incentives for builders. Her administration’s successful initiatives have resulted in processing over 14,000 housing applications, representing a dramatic increase from previous years, and establishing Mississauga as a model for municipal housing policy reform.

The post Fixing Housing Affordability: Mayor Carolyn Parrish on Mississauga’s Bold Strategy appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate.

Recorded live on the sidelines of the Southwest Ontario Real Estate Forum, in this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk welcome Ryan Mounsey, CEO of Urban Insights, to discuss his National Housing Acceleration Blueprint, a data-driven strategy to create 3.5 million homes in Canada by 2031. They unpack the three pillars of the plan: boosting housing supply, securing funding, and speeding up delivery. From converting retail centres and leveraging government land to modular construction and streamlined approvals, Ryan shares practical and actionable solutions that can be implemented simultaneously to address the housing crisis.

What you will learn:

Expanding Census Metropolitan Areas by just 0.2% could create 1 million new homes
Why converting retail centers could add 500,000 housing units
The impact of reducing development charges by 50% to make housing more affordable
How government land utilization (10% of holdings) could create 500,000 new units
Why modular construction can reduce building time by 50-70%
Why focusing development around transit hubs represents an immediate opportunity
The importance of standardizing approval processes across different municipalities
How funding models need to evolve to support both affordable and market-rate housing development

Ryan Mounsey, CEO of Urban Insights, is a leading expert in urban planning, economic development, and affordable housing. With over 25 years in public and private sectors, including senior roles in Kitchener and Waterloo, he has managed landmark projects like the Barrelyards, CIGI Campus, and School of Pharmacy. Holding a master’s in urban design from U of T, Ryan authored the National Housing Acceleration Blueprint, offering innovative, data-driven strategies to build 3.5 million Canadian homes by 2031 through supply, funding, and speed initiatives.

The post The Blueprint for Building 3.5 Million Canadian Homes by 2031 with Ryan Mounsey, CEO of Urban Insights appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate.

Recorded live on the sidelines of the Southwest Ontario Real Estate Forum, this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast has hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk welcoming Kelsey Boland, Senior Director of Investments at Fitzrovia, to discuss his company’s bold move into purpose-built student housing. Kelsey outlines how Fitzrovia is redefining the student rental experience with amenity-rich, fully furnished units designed for year-round living.

He explains the strategy behind the Waverly brand, the decision to prioritise entertainment districts over campus proximity, and why institutional-grade student housing is a major growth opportunity in markets like London, Kingston, and potentially Quebec. Discover how Fitzrovia is raising the bar for student living in Canada.

What you will learn:

How Fitzrovia is transforming student housing to premium, amenity-rich living spaces
Why purpose-built student rentals represent an untapped institutional opportunity
The strategic approach to selecting student housing locations
How Fitzrovia’s signature amenities are being adapted for student-focused properties
Why the 300-400 unit sweet spot is optimal for student housing development
The evolution of student housing from London to broader Canadian markets
Why fully-furnished units and 12-month leases are becoming the new standard
How a partnership with universities creates sustainable student communities
The importance of market-specific development strategies
Why parent guarantors and institutional management are reshaping the student housing experience

Kelsey Boland is the Senior Director of Investments at Fitzrovia, specializing in student housing and multi-residential development. With a background in asset management and real estate investment, including notable roles at Slate Asset Management and CI Financial, he brings extensive experience in portfolio management and strategic acquisitions. His career highlights include managing over $1.14 billion in office assets across Canada and transitioning into the purpose-built student housing sector. At Fitzrovia, Kelsey leads the company’s expansion into institutional student-oriented housing developments across Southern Ontario markets, focusing on creating premium, amenity-rich residential experiences in key university cities like London, Kingston, and Guelph.

The post From Dorms to Destination Living: The Student Housing Shift with Kelsey Boland, Senior Director of Investment at Fitzrovia appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate.

Recorded live on the sidelines of the Southwest Ontario Real Estate Forum, this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast has hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk welcoming Mike Bradley, the long-serving Mayor of Sarnia, Ontario. With 38 years in office, Mayor Bradley shares deep insights into the evolution of Sarnia, from a petrochemical stronghold to a clean energy hub, while maintaining a debt-free city. The conversation explores the real estate implications of cross-border tensions, strategies for sustainable growth, and the critical role of public-private partnerships. A must-listen for anyone navigating development in border cities or interested in resilient municipal leadership.

What you will learn:

How Sarnia transformed from a single-industry town to Canada’s eastern energy hub
Why debt-free city management can create long-term economic stability
The impact of cross-border tensions on local economies
How border cities are adapting to changing U.S.-Canada relations
Why maintaining trust between city leadership and the development community drives successful urban growth
The strategic approach to housing development that made Sarnia a regional leader
How geopolitical tensions affect multinational companies’ investment decisions
The balancing act of fostering economic independence while managing established cross-border relationships

Mike Bradley is the long-serving Mayor of Sarnia, Ontario, with an impressive 38-year tenure spanning 11 elections. With a unique background that includes holding a real estate license and previous experience at REMAX, Mayor Bradley brings valuable insights into both municipal leadership and property development. Under his leadership, Sarnia has transformed from a traditional petrochemical hub into Canada’s green energy center, embracing renewable energy initiatives while maintaining its crucial role in the national economy. Notable achievements include guiding Sarnia to become one of Canada’s few debt-free cities, leading housing development initiatives in Southwestern Ontario, and fostering innovative partnerships between business and labor sectors.

The post Real Estate Resilience in a Border City with Mayor Mike Bradley, City of Sarnia appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. Recorded live at the Southwestern Ontario Real Estate Forum, in this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk chat with Ted Davis, COO at Avison Young, about the evolving landscape of Canadian commercial real estate. Ted shares insights on...

The post Navigating Cycles, Price Discovery & Future Growth with Ted Davis, COO of Avison Young appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. Recorded live at the Toronto Land Development Forum, in this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk welcome Ben Rogowski, COO at Canderel Group, for an honest look at the turbulent landscape of Canadian condo development. Rogowski unpacks why...

The post From Condos to Rentals: Adapting Real Estate Strategies with Ben Rogowski, COO at Canderel Group appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, recorded live at the Land and Development Conference in Toronto, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk sit down with Brian Salpeter, Executive Vice President of Development at Cadillac Fairview. Brian shares his unique journey from...

The post Retail Evolution, Office Markets, and Development Timing with Brian Salpeter, Vice President of Development at Cadillac Fairview appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. Recorded live at the Toronto Land Development Forum, in this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk sit down with Ryan Zizzo, Founder and CEO of Mantle Developments, to explore actionable strategies for sustainable construction in Canada. From...

The post Modular, Mass Timber and the Low-Carbon Future of Construction, with Ryan Zizzo, Founder and CEO of Mantle Developments appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. Recorded live at the Toronto Land Development Forum, on this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk welcome Jim Ritchie, President of Tridel Group of Companies and President and CEO of Deltera. Together, they explore the evolution of Toronto’s...

The post Toronto’s Condo Evolution Through the Eyes of Jim Ritchie, President of Tridel appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, recorded live on the sidelines of the Land and Development Conference in Toronto, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk sit down with Nadine Leblanc, SVP Housing Policy and Programs at CMHC. Nadine shares how CMHC...

The post Innovating Housing Finance: What’s Next for CMHC with Nadine Leblanc, SVP Housing Policy and Programs at CMHC appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. Recorded live at the Vancouver Real Estate Forum, this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast features Tim Grant, President of PCI Developments. Hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk explore how PCI navigates today’s volatile market with strategic mixed-use developments, transit-oriented projects, and a...

The post Why PCI Is Betting Big on Vancouver’s Real Estate Future with Tim Grant, President of PCI Developments appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, recorded live at the Western Apartment Investment Conference in Vancouver, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk welcome Krista Murphy, Principal of MLZ Creative, to dive deep into the evolving world of apartment marketing and lease-up strategies. With 18 years of property management experience and five years...

The post The Secret to Tripling Your Apartment Lease-Up Traffic with Krista Murphy, Principal at MLZ Creative appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, recorded on the sidelines of the Vancouver Real Estate Forum, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk welcome Ted Mildon, VP of Leasing and Operations at Oxford Properties Vancouver, to unpack the latest trends reshaping the...

The post Why Class-A Properties Still Win with Ted Mildon, VP of Leasing and Operations at Oxford Properties Vancouver appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk sit down with Mitchell Blaine, EVP at JLL, to dissect Southwestern Ontario’s evolving CRE landscape. Blaine offers insights across office, retail, industrial, and multi-family sectors, from post-COVID office trends...

The post How Tariffs Are Reshaping Industrial Real Estate: Insights from Mitchell Blaine, EVP at JLL appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, recorded at the Vancouver Real Estate Forum, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk welcome Trevor Blakely, founder and CEO of Forgestone Capital. With over $8 billion in transactions and $3 billion in assets under management,...

The post Back to Basics: Thriving in a Tougher Real Estate Market with Trevor Blakely, Founder and CEO of Forgestone Capital appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk welcome Katie Maslechko, CEO of the Rental Protection Fund. Katie shares how the fund rapidly scaled to 1,500 units across BC, deploying $250M in equity to preserve affordable housing....

The post Revolutionizing Affordable Housing Through Strategic Acquisitions with Katie Maslechko, CEO of the Rental Protection Fund appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk welcome Ryan Berlin, VP of Intelligence and Head Economist at rennie, for an in-depth look at Vancouver’s real estate paradox: falling prices amid housing shortages. They unpack the impact...

The post Turning Challenges Into Opportunity: Evolving Real Estate Market with Ryan Berlin, VP of Intelligence and Head Economist at rennie appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk welcome Wendy Waters, VP of Research Services and Strategy at GWL Realty Advisors, for a deep dive into Canadian real estate strategy during economic uncertainty. Recorded at the Western...

The post Resilient Real Estate: Thriving in Turbulent Times with Wendy Waters, GWL Realty Advisors appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk welcome Dean Orrico, President and CEO of Middlefield Group, for a deep dive into REITs and real estate investing. Dean unpacks the effects of tariffs, the NAV discount debate,...

The post REITs, Retail, and Real Returns: Navigating Real Estate Investment with Dean Orrico, President and CEO of Middlefield appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk welcome Mark Rothschild, Analyst at Canaccord Genuity, for a deep dive into Canada’s evolving REIT market. Covering everything from industrial sector pressures and the fallout of Hudson Bay Company’s...

The post From Retail Shakeups to Industrial Strains: 2025 REIT Outlook with Mark Rothschild, Canaccord Genuity appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. Before we dive in… This episode was recorded just a few weeks ago, but with the recent geopolitical shifts and market uncertainty, a few parts of our discussion may already feel a bit outdated. Still, there’s so much value packed into this conversation that...

The post Co-Living, Condos & Capital: CRE Trends You Need to Know with Sasha Cucuz, CEO of Greybrook Securities appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. In this special episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk explore the evolving landscape of commercial real estate lending in Q1 2025. From CMHC’s shifting rental achievement requirements to construction financing strategies and Canada Mortgage Bond program changes....

The post State of Lending: Cracking CMHC and Navigating New CRE Lending Rules in 2025 with Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk speak with Graham Gooch, President of Ayrshire Group, about innovative public-private partnerships in multifamily development. Gooch shares how his firm blends private capital with nonprofit collaboration, grant funding, and...

The post How Creative Capital Stacking is Making Housing Affordable with Graham Gooch, President of Ayrshire Group appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk sit down with Rob Kumer, CEO at KingSett Capital, to explore strategies for navigating today’s uncertain market. Rob shares insights on balancing institutional growth with entrepreneurial flexibility, how impact...

The post Why Now is the Time to Invest in Commercial Real Estate with Rob Kumer, CEO at KingSett Capital appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk sit down with Michael Brooks, CEO of REALPAC, on the sidelines of the RealCapital 2025 conference to discuss Canada’s evolving real estate landscape. They explore the impact of US...

The post From Tariffs to Tech: The Future of Canadian Real Estate with Michael Brooks, CEO of REALPAC appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Adam Powadiuk and Aaron Cameron sit down with Carl Gomez, Chief Economist and Head of Analytics at CoStar Group, to discuss the future of Canadian commercial real estate. They explore key trends, including the...

The post Tariffs, Rates & Real Estate: What’s Next for Canadian CRE? Insights from Carl Gomez appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Adam Powadiuk and Aaron Cameron sit down with Marlon Bray, Executive Vice President at Clark Construction Management, for a candid conversation about the evolving landscape of commercial real estate construction. Marlon shares his insights...

The post The State of CRE Construction: What’s Working, What’s Broken & What’s Next with Marlon Bray, EVP of Clark Construction Management appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. In this episode of Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Adam Powadiuk and Aaron Cameron are joined by Jennifer Keesmaat, President and CEO of Collecdev-Markee, to discuss Canada’s housing development challenges. They explore inefficiencies in approval processes, vested interests that cause delays, and policy innovations...

The post Revolutionizing Housing Approvals: Jennifer Keesmaat’s Vision for Smarter Development appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. In this episode of The Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Adam Powadiuk and Aaron Cameron sit down with Jose Pellicer, Partner, Strategy of Evonite, to discuss his transition from managing institutional billions to launching a European real estate investment firm. They explore market cycles,...

The post Spotting Market Cycles: How to Invest in European Real Estate with Jose Pellicer, Partner, Strategy at Evonite appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. In this episode of Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Adam Powadiuk and Aaron Cameron are joined by Vic Gupta, CEO of CreateTO, to discuss how Toronto manages its $27 billion public real estate portfolio. Vic shares insights into transformative projects like the Greyhound Terminal...

The post Affordable Housing & Major Projects with Vic Gupta, CEO of CreateTO appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Adam Powadiuk and Aaron Cameron are joined by Kathy Black, Head of Development at Fiera Real Estate. Together, they explore Canada’s evolving development landscape. From navigating the condo market slowdown to the booming success...

The post Industrial Condos & Purpose-Built Rentals: A Blueprint for Success with Kathy Black, Head of Development at Fiera Real Estate appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Adam Powadiuk and Aaron Cameron are joined by Gord Cook, Vice Chairman at Colliers, to explore Canada’s dynamic industrial real estate market. They examine the impact of rising interest rates, evolving supply-demand dynamics in...

The post The Future of Industrial Real Estate: Trends and Forecast with Gord Cook, Vice Chairman at Colliers appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Adam Powadiuk and Aaron Cameron welcome back Adrian Rocca, CEO of Fitzrovia, to explore Toronto’s dynamic real estate market. They discuss the impact of rising costs, the urgent need for increased housing supply, and...

The post Transforming Multifamily Living by Countering Rising Costs with Adrian Rocca, CEO of Fitzrovia appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Adam Powadiuk and Aaron Cameron are joined by Thomas Mueller, President and CEO of the Canadian Green Building Council. They discuss the evolution of sustainability in commercial real estate, the impact of LEED certification,...

The post Greening Canada’s Real Estate Future with Thomas Mueller, President & CEO at Canada Green Building Council appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Adam Powadiuk and Aaron Cameron welcome back Brian Rosen, President and CEO of Colliers Canada. They explore the future of Canadian real estate, focusing on the 2025 outlook. Key topics include the evolving office...

The post Retail Resurgence and Multifamily Trends for 2025 with Brian Rosen, President and CEO of Colliers Canada appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, Adam and Aaron sit down with James Trainor, Senior Vice President at AON, to explore the pressing issue of cybersecurity in the real estate sector. Drawing from James’s extensive experience in cybercrime, the discussion covers...

The post Cybersecurity Risks in Real Estate with James Trainor, SVP of AON appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, Adam and Aaron sit down with Maxim Olshevsky, CEO of Astra Group Corp. They explore the challenges and triumphs of converting underutilized office spaces into vibrant residential units in Calgary. Maxim shares his journey in...

The post Challenges and Triumphs of Converting Unused Office Spaces to Vibrant Residential Units with Maxim Olshevsky, CEO of Astra Group Corp appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, Adam and Aaron sit down with Sachin Anand, Vice President of Acquisitions at Regional Group. Join them as they explore the real estate market in Ottawa. They discuss investment strategies, the evolution of office spaces,...

The post Ottawa’s Real Estate Landscape with Sachin Anand, VP of Acquisitions at Regional Group appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE Podcast: 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, Adam and Aaron sit down with Brad Bradford, the first active-sitting politician to ever appear on our podcast, and Toronto City Councillor for Beaches-East York, to discuss the pressing challenges in Toronto’s housing market and...

The post Building Toronto: A Public Showdown on Housing Policy with Brad Bradford, Toronto City Councillor appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

What better way to end the year than by revisiting the most downloaded episode of 2024! To celebrate a huge year for the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, we’re thrilled to bring you this standout conversation with Avtar Bains, President of Premise Properties. Whether you’re listening again or discovering this episode for the first time, it’s...

The post The Top Episode of 2024 with Avtar Bains, President of Premise Properties appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, Adam and Aaron sit down with Francis Cortellino, Chief Analyst at CMHC, to discuss Canada’s housing market challenges. They explore how immigration is driving rental demand, the impact of limited supply on affordability, and the...

The post Housing Crunch: Immigration, Rent, and the Future of Canadian Real Estate with Francis Cortellino, Chief Analyst at CMHC appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, Adam and Aaron sit down with Katie Paris, Director of Building LeBreton at the National Capital Commission (NCC). Together, they explore the NCC’s unique role as Eastern Ontario’s largest landlord and its impact on Ottawa’s...

The post Sustainable Cities and Public Trust: LeBreton Flats and the NCC’s Vision with Katie Paris, Director at NCC appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, Aaron and Adam welcome Zev Kershman, VP of Product and Customer Success at DashQ, a cutting-edge lead-to-lease platform for multifamily landlords. Recorded at the Canadian Apartment Investment Conference, Zev discusses how DashQ uses AI to...

The post The Future of Leasing: DashQ’s Impact on Multifamily Landlords with Zev Kershman appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, Aaron and Adam welcome Stephen Sender, Board Member at Allied Properties REIT and Sienna Senior Living, to discuss the evolution, challenges, and opportunities in the Canadian REIT market. Stephen shares his journey from South Africa...

The post The Evolution of Canadian REITs with Stephen Sender, Allied Properties REIT appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, Aaron and Adam dive into the pressing housing crisis in Canada with the help of David Coletto, CEO of Abacus Data. A company that shares insights on public opinion trends, the political landscape, and the...

The post The Impact of Public Opinion and Political Pressure on Canadian Real Estate with David Coletto, Founder of Abacus Data appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate.In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron and Adam connect with Alex Avery, CEO of Primaris REIT.Join them as they explore the evolving landscape of retail real estate. They discuss the shifting sentiment in the REIT sector, driven by changing interest rates and investor optimism. Alex shares his journey to Primaris, the recent spin-out from H&R REIT, and insights into transforming malls as consumer habits change. They examine strategies for revitalizing retail spaces, handling anchor store vacancies, and attracting high-yield tenants, offering listeners an in-depth look at the future of mall spaces and retail-focused REITs.Here are the key talking points from the episode:* Market Sentiment and Interest Rates * Alex’s Career Journey * The Spin-Out of Primaris REIT * Current State of the Mall Sector * Acquisition Strategy and Market Dynamics * Competitive Advantage in Retail * Evolution of Mall Spaces and Anchor Stores * Strategies for Repurposing Vacant Spaces

More about our guest…Alex brings more than 20 years of real estate and capital markets experience, including serving on the board of trustees of H&R REIT from 2017 through 2021 and as Executive Vice President of Asset Management & Strategic Initiatives at H&R REIT from 2020 through the spin-off of Primaris REIT in 2021 where he also served on the board of trustees until 2023. Previous roles include portfolio management of real estate securities with FrontFour Capital, over 12 years as a sell-side equity analyst at CIBC Capital Markets, and transaction and advisory roles with Altus Group.The post Optimism in Commercial Real Estate: A New Era for Malls with Alex Avery, CEO of Primaris REIT appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate.

In this special episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, Aaron and Adam dive into the evolving landscape of Canadian commercial real estate lending, emphasizing shifts in CMHC-insured lending, especially in apartment financing.

They explore the impact of new government policies on market dynamics, such as supply-demand imbalances and increased capacity in the Canada Mortgage Bond (CMB) program. The hosts discuss current trends in rental rates, the strategic advantages of CMHC’s MLI Select program, and the benefits of affordability-focused financing. Concluding with insights on interest rate trends, Adam and Aaron provide valuable guidance for borrowers navigating this competitive lending environment.

Here are the key talking points from the episode:

Current Lending Environment
Conventional vs. CMHC Insured Lending
Unpacking the Canada Mortgage Bond Program (CMB)
Market Dynamics and Capacity Issues
Recent Policy Changes and Risk Management
Future Outlook for Borrowers
Rental Market Trends
CMHC Financing Strategies for Owner-Operators
Interest Rate Trends and Market Implications

More about our hosts…

Aaron Cameron is the VP of Commercial Origination at First National. Aaron has over 15 years with the company and 18 years of industry experience. He is a confident decision-maker who values logic in business. With expertise in operations, sales, servicing, product development, and investor relations, Aaron understands the complexities of the mortgage process and prioritizes perspective, hard work, and progress in his work.

Adam Powadiuk is the Assistant VP of Commercial Financing at First National. He has been with First National since 2012 and helps originate over $2 billion annually. He emphasizes building trust through sound advice, enabling clients to reach their goals. His approach combines persistence and thoroughness, focusing on understanding clients and applying creativity and intelligent risk-taking to close deals successfully.

The post The State of Lending with Adam Powadiuk & Aaron Cameron appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron and Adam connect with Akinfolarin Olusuyi, Chief Services Officer at Altrio. Join them as they discuss the impact of AI on commercial real estate. Recorded at the Canadian Department of Investment Conference, the conversation explores Altrio’s data-driven platform, Origin, which enhances deal-making through automation, data management, and efficiency improvements. Akin also addresses market challenges, the evolving role of AI, and the need for real estate professionals to adapt to technology’s growing influence on the industry.

Here are the key talking points from the episode:

Akinfolarin’s Background
AI vs. Technology in Real Estate
Overview of Altrio and the Origin Platform
Key Features of Origin
Challenges in Data Accessibility
Document Generation Needs
Future Aspirations for AI in Real Estate
AI’s Impact on Employment in Real Estate
Embracing Change and Continuous Learning

More about our guest…

Akinfolarin Olusuyi is an accomplished Commercial Real Estate (CRE) professional and Chief Services Officer at Altrio, a technology firm transforming CRE investing with innovative, data-driven solutions. With a background in underwriting CRE deals and private equity, Akin has managed acquisitions, asset management, and capital raising for over $500 million in assets. At Altrio, he oversees Data and Professional Services, optimizing investment workflows through Altrio’s flagship platform, Origin. A CFA and finance graduate from York University and the Schulich School of Business, Akin is a dedicated mentor, speaker, and volunteer, passionate about growth, faith, and community engagement.

The post AI in Real Estate: The Game-Changer for Deal Management with Akinfolarin Olusuyi of Altrio appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron and Adam connect with Gordon Wadley, COO of Dream Unlimited. Join them as they discuss the post-pandemic market dynamics, highlighting cautious optimism in occupancy rates and tenant behavior, with a shift towards shorter leases. Gordon addresses the challenges facing Class B and C office spaces and emphasizes the importance of ESG initiatives and community engagement. The conversation also touches on investment strategies and the complexities of converting office spaces to residential use. Listeners gain valuable insights into current trends and future outlooks in the Canadian office market.

Here are the key talking points from the episode:

Market Dynamics and Optimism
Tenant Behavior and Flexibility
Office Occupancy: Trends and Demand
Investment Landscape Disparities
Cap Rates and Valuation Insights
Challenges for Class B and C Office Spaces
ESG Initiatives and Financing
Importance of Amenities and Community Engagement
Office Conversions and Market Viability

More about our guest…

Gordon Wadley is the Chief Operating Officer for Dream Unlimited’s Office REIT in Toronto, overseeing a mixed-use portfolio of approximately 10 million square feet across Canada’s major markets. Since joining Dream in 2011, he has played a key role in asset strategy, leasing, and operations in major Canadian cities, including Toronto, Ottawa, and Quebec. His extensive portfolio includes the Zibi sustainable development in the National Capital Region and Toronto’s historic Distillery District. Recognized as a Top 40 Under 40 by the Ottawa Business Journal in 2015, Gordon has led high-impact real estate strategies totaling over 14 million square feet.

The post From Turbulence to Trends: The Future of Office Real Estate with Gordon Wadley, COO of Dream Office REIT appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate.

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron and Adam connect with Steven Haylestrom, CEO of The Modular Solution. Join them as they discuss the potential of modular construction in addressing Canada’s affordable housing crisis. They cover modular construction’s history, benefits, and challenges, highlighting its ability to reduce build time by 50%, improve quality control, and minimize waste. Challenges include resistance to change in the industry, financing issues, and the limited capacity of modular manufacturers. The episode concludes by calling for industry collaboration, education, and investment to scale modular construction as a viable solution for housing shortages.

Here are the key talking points from the episode:

Understanding Modular Construction
Historical Context and Terminology
Benefits of Modular Construction
Challenges in Adoption
Insurance and Financing Complications
The Role of Industry Stakeholders
The Importance of Standardization
The Future of Modular Construction

More about our guest…

Steven Haylestrom is a leader in modular design, manufacturing, logistics, and site construction, with over 18 years of experience. As President and COO of The Modular Solution, he oversees modular projects from design to completion, focusing on quality, budget, and scheduling. Steven’s mission is to increase the construction of affordable housing across Canada using modular technology. He also volunteers as a consultant for organizations like AHFA Canada and HousingNowTO, leveraging his expertise to advance affordable housing and positively impact communities.

Episode Highlights

00:00 – Intro
02:31 – Understanding Modular Construction
07:16 – Historical Context and Terminology
12:01 – Benefits of Modular Construction
17:31 – Challenges in Adoption
23:01 – Insurance and Financing Complications
28:01 – The Role of Industry Stakeholders
34:01 – The Importance of Standardization
40:01 – The Future of Modular Construction

Quotes

“My focus has been on helping clients leverage modular prefabrication to streamline housing development. It’s about efficiency and speed, especially in today’s climate.”
“One of the biggest advantages of modular construction is the time savings. We often see timelines reduced by up to 50%. That’s a game changer for developers. It minimizes waste and ensures a higher quality standard than traditional methods.”
“One major challenge is the mindset in the construction industry. There’s a significant resistance to change. Many still operate as if we’re decades behind in innovation. We need to break down those barriers.”
“The traditional financing models just don’t work for modular construction. Manufacturers need upfront payments, which complicates things. And it creates a risk, especially if manufacturers go bankrupt after taking deposits.”
“If we can educate stakeholders and streamline processes, I truly believe modular construction can revolutionize our industry.”

The post Modular Construction: A Game-Changer for Housing and CRE with Steven Haylestrom, CEO of The Modular Solution appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate.

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron and Adam welcome back Mark Goodman, Principal of Goodman Commercial Inc. Join them as they discuss the current state of the Vancouver commercial real estate market. Goodman reveals that his firm commands about 20% market share despite its size and reflects on the impacts of COVID-19, interest rate fluctuations, and the recent rise in nonprofit buyer activity. The conversation also covers government initiatives for affordable housing, geopolitical factors influencing investment, and future cap rate predictions, highlighting the complex dynamics of Vancouver’s real estate landscape.

Here are the key talking points from the episode:

Vancouver Market Overview
Looking at the Market with a Historical Context
Market Dynamics and the Impact of Interest Rates
Examining the Bid-Ask Spread
Buyer Profiles and the Rental Protection Fund Initiative
Government Initiatives for Affordable Housing
Impact of Geopolitical Factors on Pricing
Future Outlook

More about our guest…

With over 50 years of experience, Mark Goodman is a leading expert in multi-family apartment sales and development in Metro Vancouver. He oversees the Goodman Report, the region’s premier resource for multi-family investment insights, relied upon by thousands of owners, investors, and analysts. Mark’s impressive career boasts over $3.5 billion in sales and 700 transactions, making him a trusted voice frequently quoted in top media outlets like The Vancouver Sun and National Post. Known for his innovative marketing strategies, Mark is dedicated to maximising client success through a comprehensive, results-driven approach to real estate transactions.

Episode Highlights

00:00 – Intro
02:30 – Vancouver Market Overview
05:15 – Looking at the Market with a Historical Context
08:45 – Market Dynamics and the Impact of Interest Rates
12:00 – Examining the Bid-Ask Spread
15:30 – Buyer Profiles and the Rental Protection Fund Initiative
18:00 – Government Initiatives for Affordable Housing
21:00 – Impact of Geopolitical Factors on Pricing
24:00 – Future Outlook

Quotes

“Despite being a relatively small firm, we control about 20% of the Vancouver commercial real estate market. This gives us a unique perspective compared to giants like CBRE and the Royal Bank of Canada. It really speaks to how specialised our approach is in this landscape.”
“When COVID-19 hit in March 2020, our firm was classified as an essential service. We could keep operating while many others were forced to shut down. This distinction allowed us to navigate the early pandemic market with a different strategy.”
“2022 marked a significant turning point as interest rates began to rise. By mid-2023, the market froze, with the Bank of Canada rate hitting 5%. It was a tough environment until we started seeing a recent resurgence in activity.”
“The bid-ask spread remains a persistent issue in our market. Sellers have to adjust their expectations if we want to see more transactions. Seeing some movement is encouraging, but we still have a way to go before we reach equilibrium.”
“We’re witnessing an interesting trend with nonprofits stepping into the market, largely due to the Rental Protection Fund initiative. This is not just a temporary shift; it’s reshaping our buyer profiles significantly.”

The post Vancouver Real Estate: A Market in Motion with Mark Goodman, Principal of Goodman Commercial Inc appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate.

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron and Adam connect with Adam Carapella, VP at Tricar Developments, live from the Southwestern Ontario Real Estate Forum. Adam shares his journey from hands-on construction to leading a company managing over 2,000 rental units and developing condominiums. Discover how Tricar is adapting to market dynamics, navigating challenges in municipal approvals, and focusing on affordable living options. Plus, get insights into upcoming projects in cities like Kitchener and the rising trend of amenities like golf simulators in residential buildings.

Here are the key talking points from the episode:

Adam Carapella’s Background
Transition to Family Business
Current Role at Tricar and Operations
Business Focus and Strategy at Tricar
The Commercial Real Estate Market Conditions and Challenges
Municipal Approval Challenges
Future Projects and Community Development
Importance of Affordable Living
After Show Insights

More about our guest…

Adam Carapella is the Vice President of Tricar, a family-founded company with nearly 40 years of experience in real estate development. Adam oversees day-to-day operations, managing over 2,000 rental units and leading construction projects, including mid- and high-rise condominiums. A University of Guelph graduate, Adam’s deep industry knowledge and hands-on experience have been instrumental in Tricar’s continued success.

Episode Highlights

02:15 – Adam Carapella’s Background
05:45 – Transition to Family Business
09:00 – Current Role at Tricar and Operations
12:30 – Business Focus and Strategy at Tricar
16:00 – The Commercial Real Estate Market Conditions and Challenges
20:15 – Municipal Approval Challenges
24:00 – Future Projects and Community Development
27:30 – Importance of Affordable Living
30:00 – After Show Insights

Quotes

“Growing up in the industry, I was always around construction sites. From a young age, I was involved in everything from digging foundations to painting walls. It gave me a unique perspective on real estate, and after attending the University of Guelph, I realised that this was where my passion lay.”
“There’s been a significant shift in our approach. We used to focus heavily on rental units, but now we maintain a 50/50 balance with condominiums. It’s essential to stay adaptive. The market constantly changes, and we must respond to those dynamics to remain successful.”
“The gap between sellers’ and buyers’ expectations is growing, especially concerning land prices. It’s crucial to understand what the market demands, particularly in cities like London, where we have a surplus of rental supply.”
“Municipal approvals have become increasingly challenging. However, I see a positive shift as municipalities start recognising our housing crisis. It’s time we focus on urban living to rejuvenate our downtown areas.”
“We’re thrilled about our new residential project in Kitchener. It’s a chance to create a vibrant community in an area that has been underdeveloped for too long. Maintaining a pipeline of projects is crucial to keep our teams engaged.”

The post Adapting to Market Dynamics: Balancing Rentals and Condominiums with Adam Carapella, VP at Tricar Developments appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate.

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron and Adam connect with Dean Campbell, Vice President of Construction and Design at Parkbridge, about the evolving Canadian housing market and the innovative land lease model. Dean shares his extensive experience in construction and highlights how Parkbridge’s approach—where residents own their homes but lease the land—makes housing more affordable, especially in high-cost areas like the Greater Toronto Area. The conversation also dives into the challenges of rising development costs and labour shortages and how municipalities are stepping up to support housing needs. Tune in for valuable insights into the future of housing and the impact of models like land leasing!

Here are the key talking points from the episode:

Dean’s Background in Construction
Overview of Parkbridge and Community Development
Explaining the Land Lease Model
Impact of Development Charges on Affordability
Labour Shortages in the Construction Industry
Future of Housing Development Amid Rising Costs
Municipal Responses to Housing Needs
Institutional Backing and Its Influence

More about our guest…

Dean is a passionate and enthusiastic homebuilder with over 30 years of experience in condominium high-rise and wood-frame homebuilding. He has held the position of Chief Operating Officer, Housing for Excel Homes in Calgary, Edmonton, and Victoria. Before that, Dean was Vice President of Operations for Losani Homes in Hamilton and Vice President of Construction for Mattamy Homes in Ottawa and Calgary. Dean and his teams have been awarded numerous awards, including JD Power and Associates in Ottawa, Consumer Choice awards in Hamilton, and AVID Western Canada. Dean holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business and Economics and remains committed to ongoing learning.

Episode Highlights

02:31 – Dean’s Background in Construction
07:16 – Overview of Parkbridge and Community Development
12:01 – Explaining the Land Lease Model
15:46 – Impact of Development Charges on Affordability
20:01 – Labour Shortages in the Construction Industry
25:31 – Future of Housing Development Amid Rising Costs
30:01 – Municipal Responses to Housing Needs
35:01 – Institutional Backing and Its Influence

Quotes

“The land lease model is a game-changer for many buyers. It allows residents to own their homes while leasing the land beneath them. This significantly reduces the upfront costs, making it a viable option, especially in high-demand areas like the Greater Toronto Area. By lowering the barrier to entry, we’re aiming to make homeownership more accessible.”
“We’re seeing development charges and labour costs soar, and unfortunately, these costs are often passed down to the buyers. It raises the question: how do we keep homes affordable when the expenses seem to be out of our control? It’s a pressing issue that needs to be addressed at all levels of government.”
“The construction industry is facing a critical labour shortage. An aging workforce combined with insufficient new entrants into the trades is a recipe for disaster. While there is interest from younger generations, the current apprentice-to-journeyman ratios hinder their ability to get the necessary training. If we don’t address this soon, we could see a significant slowdown in housing development.”
“Municipalities need to be more proactive in supporting development. The demand for housing is rising, but are we seeing the necessary policies and frameworks that encourage innovative solutions? Local governments must step up and facilitate rather than hinder the process.”
“Institutional investors bring not just capital but also a long-term vision. They’re interested in sustainable, scalable models like land leasing, which can drive innovation in the housing sector. It could really change the game for affordability.”

Episode Resources

Parkbridge Website
Aaron Cameron on LinkedIn
Adam Powadiuk on LinkedIn
First National Website

The post Construction Challenges in Canada: Rising Costs and Labour Shortages Insights from Dean Campbell of Parkbridge appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate.

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron and Adam connect with Karl Innanen, Executive Vice president at Colliers International. Join them as they explore the commercial real estate market in Southwestern Ontario. Recorded at the Southwest Ontario Real Estate Forum, the discussion highlights the impact of rising interest rates, the state of various asset classes such as office, retail, industrial, and multifamily, and development challenges. Carl shares insights into his career, market trends, and future indicators, offering valuable perspectives on navigating the shifting landscape of commercial real estate.

Here are the key talking points from the episode:

Current Commercial Real Estate Market Overview
Office Space Challenges
Retail Market Insights
Stability in Industrial and Multifamily Markets
Development Market Challenges
Future Market Indicators
Reflections on Downtown Cores

More about our guest…

With over 30 years of experience in commercial real estate, Karl takes his passion and skills in real estate to mentor, train, and develop the Colliers team in Kitchener Waterloo. He focuses on attracting and retaining the best diverse, enterprising, and innovative commercial real estate professionals. He is always looking to network with talent; whether you’re looking to enter Tri-City commercial real estate market or curious about learning about how and what makes Colliers the best-in-class CRE firm. Please feel free to send him a connection request if you’d like to learn more!

Karl has attended Western University and focused on economics. For the past 24 years, he has been an instructor with CCIM, teaching professionals across North America, Russia, and China.

Episode Highlights

00:00 – Intro
02:31 – Karl Innanen’s Background
10:01 – Current Commercial Real Estate Market Overview
18:01 – Office Space Challenges
25:01 – Retail Market Insights
32:01 – Stability in Industrial and Multifamily Markets
39:01 – Development Market Challenges
45:01 – Future Market Indicators
50:01 – Reflections on Downtown Cores

Episode Resources

Karl Innanen on LinkedIn
Colliers International Website
Aaron Cameron on LinkedIn
Adam Powadiuk on LinkedIn
First National Website

The post Navigating Rising Interest Rates with Karl Innanen of Colliers International appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate.

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron and Adam connect with Richard Lyall, President and CEO of RESCON. This non-profit organization represents builders of Ontario’s low, mid, and high-rise residential buildings. Richard discusses his journey in real estate, the evolving construction industry, and the challenges facing Canada’s rental housing market. Topics include labor shortages, development charges, and the need for housing reform through technology, modular construction, and a streamlined approval process. Despite the challenges, Richard remains optimistic about the future of the housing industry.

Here are the key talking points from the episode:

Richard’s journey in real estate
Evolution of the Construction Industry
Rescon’s Core Mission
Key Challenges in the Affordable Housing Market
The Disconnect in Tax Structures
The Impact of Immigration and Housing Demand
Calls for Policy Reform

More about our guest…

Richard is an accomplished and experienced executive who has represented the residential construction industry in Ontario since 1991. He is a frequent speaker and popular source quoted by the media on construction industry issues. His insightful columns appear regularly in The Toronto Sun, Canadian Real Estate Wealth, Storeys, Builder Bites, Daily Commercial News and Canadian Construction Business.

He has a successful track record in advancing RESCON’s vision, mission and values through his high-level board and strategy work. He was honoured with the 2019 Canadian Lifetime Volunteer Award from the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans for enriching the organization’s educational efforts. He is also on a steering committee of the Chicago-based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. He is also on the Ontario Housing Supply Action Plan Implementation Team.

Episode Highlights

00:00 – Intro
02:31 – Richard’s Journey in Real Estate
07:16 – Evolution of the Construction Industry
12:46 – Rescon’s Core Mission
15:31 – Key Challenges in the Affordable Housing Market
21:01 – The Disconnect in Tax Structures
24:16 – The Impact of Immigration and Housing Demand
27:01 – Calls for Policy Reform

Episode Resources

Richard Lyall on LinkedIn
RESCON Website
Aaron Cameron on LinkedIn
Adam Powadiuk on LinkedIn
First National Website

The post Reforming Canada’s Rental Housing Market with Richard Lyall, President of RESCON appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron and Adam connect with Cameron Choquette, CEO of the Saskatchewan Landlord Association, at the CFAA Rental Housing Conference in Toronto. Join them as they discuss Saskatchewan’s thriving rental market, which is seeing strong growth with low vacancy rates and increasing rents. Cam highlights the province’s pro-business stance, lack of rent control, investment appeal, and the challenges posed by high development costs. He stresses the need for legislative reform to support rental housing development. They also explore the downtown environments of Saskatoon and Regina, with Saskatoon thriving and Regina facing revitalization challenges.

Here are the key talking points from the episode:

Saskatchewan’s Rental Market Growth
Challenges in Developing Rental Housing
Legislative Reform and Incentives
Downtown Environments in Saskatoon and Regina
Legislative Reform as a Priority
Attractiveness of Investing in Saskatchewan’s Rental Market
Hope for the Adoption of Similar Approaches Across Jurisdictions

More about our guest…

Cameron Choquette is the CEO of the Saskatchewan Landlord Association, leading its operations since 2019. An award-winning young professional, Cam holds an Honours Degree in Management from the Edwards School of Business and a Master’s in Public Administration from the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy. Under his leadership, the Association has achieved significant growth and advocacy success, winning the CFAA’s 2021 Association Achievement of the Year Award. In 2022, he was named Saskatchewan’s Young Professional of the Year. Cam is passionate about governance, strategy, and policy.

Episode Resources

Cameron Choquette on LinkedIn
Saskatchewan Landlord Association Website
Aaron Cameron on LinkedIn
Adam Powadiuk on LinkedIn
First National Website

The post Saskatchewan’s Rental Market: Strong Growth and Investment Opportunities with Cameron Choquette appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron and Adam connect with Ana Bailao, Head of Affordable Housing & Public Affairs at Dream, an asset manager, owner and developer of real estate. With over 20 years of senior leadership experience across government, private, and non-profit sectors, Ana is passionate about creating more livable, inclusive, and affordable cities.

She shares her journey from politics to real estate, focusing on the significance of affordable housing in city development. She explains the collaboration between the City Council, the Toronto Community Housing Corporation, and the federal government’s role in housing policy. Ana highlights successes in fostering partnerships and policy reforms while discussing Dream’s efforts to build mixed-income communities. The episode concludes with insights on risk, return, and the need for immediate housing construction solutions.

Here are the key talking points from the episode:

Importance of Affordable Housing in Building Cities
Relationship between City Council and Toronto Community Housing Corporation
Role of the Federal Government in Affordable Housing
Ana’s Role at Dream and Building Mixed-Income Communities
Importance of Risk and Return in Development Process
Clearing Misconceptions Surrounding Developers and Affordable Housing

More about our guest…

With over 20 years of senior leadership experience across government, private, and non-profit sectors, Ana Baila is passionate about creating more livable, inclusive, and affordable cities. After establishing a successful career in the private sector, she transitioned to public service and was elected to Toronto City Council in 2010, where she was re-elected three times. She served as Deputy Mayor and the City’s Housing Advocate during her tenure, securing billions in federal and provincial funding to revitalize Toronto’s housing initiatives.

She played a key role in the 2020-2030 Toronto Housing Plan by expanding the affordable housing budget. In 2023, she ran for Mayor in the largest by-election in Canadian history, finishing second. Engaging with thousands of Torontonians during the campaign was a deeply rewarding experience, and she remains optimistic about the city’s future. Today, she works with industry leaders to advance affordable housing projects in Toronto and Canada.

Episode Resources

Ana Bailao on LinkedIn
Dream Website
Aaron Cameron on LinkedIn
Adam Powadiuk on LinkedIn
First National Website

The post Why You Can’t Build Cities Without Affordable Housing: A Conversation with Ana Bailao of Dream appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron and Adam interview Andrew Duncan, RioCan’s Chief Investment Officer to discuss his company’s evolving investment strategy to stay aligned to a dynamic market. Andrew shares insights into his background, RioCan’s focus on capital allocation, and the challenges of making long-term investment decisions in an unpredictable market.

He explores RioCan’s residential portfolio, detailing the obstacles to growth in apartment and condo development. The conversation then shifts to RioCan’s strong retail portfolio, and Andrew highlights the key performance indicators he monitors and a sneak peek at some potential retail acquisitions. Andrew also points to RioCan’s focus on debt reduction and portfolio adjustments that would positively impact the company’s stock value.

Here are the key talking points from the episode:

Making Strategic Investment Decisions in a Volatile Market
RioCan’s Residential Portfolio and Growth Aspirations
Factors Influencing Residential Investment Decisions
The Importance of Strong Performance and Positive Fundamentals
Potential Opportunities in Retail Acquisitions
Future Plans for RioCan
Challenges in the Apartment and Condo Market
Acknowledging the Performance of the Retail Market

More about our guest…

Andrew oversees RioCan’s development pipeline and investment transactions to optimize the Trust’s portfolio for future growth opportunities. His focus is maximizing the full potential of RioCan’s real estate, unlocking intrinsic value through development, partnerships and strategic acquisitions and dispositions to support RioCan’s evolution into Canada’s dominant urban mixed-use REIT.

Andrew has significant experience working with partners and stakeholders to deliver complex mixed-use development projects. His balanced knowledge of construction, planning, and analytics allows him to manage the development portfolio responsibly while leveraging expertise in asset classes and deal structures to maximize returns for unitholders.

Andrew joined RioCan in 2013. An engineer by trade, he previously led Engineering and Design at Lowe’s Companies of Canada and maintains his professional engineering license. Andrew holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree from the University of Guelph.

Episode Resources

Andrew Duncan on LinkedIn
RioCan Website
Aaron Cameron on LinkedIn
Adam Powadiuk on LinkedIn
First National Website

The post Retail Resilience and Residential Roadblocks Insights from Andrew Duncan, CIO of RioCan appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron and Adam connect with Ene Underwood, CEO of Habitat for Humanity GTA. This nonprofit organization helps people in your community and worldwide build or improve a place they can call home. Join them as they discuss Habitat for Humanity’s mission and their focus on creating pathways to homeownership. Ene explains their model of zero down payment mortgages and buyback provisions, ensuring affordability and accessibility. They also explore government incentives, developer partnerships, and the need for creative solutions in the affordable homeownership market.

Here are the key topics discussed:

Introduction to Habitat for Humanity’s mission
Habitat for Humanity’s model of zero down payment mortgages
Government incentives for affordable homeownership
Addressing the high interest rate environment
Habitat for Humanity’s partnerships with developers
Government’s role in providing tax incentives and credits
Importance of affordable homeownership
Need for aggressive measures to address the housing crisis
Government response and the conversation about expanding urban boundaries

More about our guest…

Ene Underwood’s professional purpose throughout her career has been applying business thinking to some of society’s most challenging social and economic well-being issues. Building on a career that began in the private sector with one of the world’s preeminent strategy consulting firms, Ene spent nearly two decades in leadership roles in some of Canada’s most respected hospitals.

Since 2013, Ene’s focus has been housing, leading Habitat for Humanity’s work in the GTA to leverage the power of homeownership to transform lives and build generational change. Ene has increasingly been a leading voice in broader housing policy changes to re-establish a Canada where affordable housing is available to all.

Episode Resources

Ene Underwood on LinkedIn
Habitat for Humanity Website
Aaron Cameron on LinkedIn
Adam Powadiuk on LinkedIn
First National Website

The post Creating Pathways to Homeownership: A Conversation with Ene Underwood, CEO of Habitat for Humanity appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron and Adam connect with Adam Jacobs, the National Head of Research at Colliers. They explore the current state of the commercial real estate market and discuss the impact of data analytics, interest rates, and economic factors on market valuations. Adam highlights unexpected market resilience despite recession fears and examines challenges like high construction costs and shifting buyer dynamics. The conversation also delves into Canada’s real estate future, including office market trends and its growth potential.

Here are the key topics discussed:

Adam Jacobs’ back story and transition to real estate
The current state of the market and expectations of a deep recession
Impact of rising interest rates on commercial real estate
Rising construction costs and a lack of adjustment
Entering the next cycle of the real estate market
Reluctance to devalue assets and revaluations
Canadian psyche and reluctance to accept the current market state
Challenges facing the downtown area

More about our guest…

Adam is a national commentator on the economy, real estate market, and hot topics like return to office and investment trends. He has been regularly interviewed and featured on BNN Bloomberg, the Globe and Mail, the Financial Post, the Toronto Star, and various industry publications. His publications at Canada’s largest brokerage cover topics including institutional investors, office leasing, life sciences, and retail trends. Adam is a regular presenter at national conferences for groups ranging from student housing developers to credit unions to property managers.

The post Future Predictions for Canadian Real Estate and Market Challenges with Adam Jacobs of Colliers appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron and Adam connect with Meggen Janes, Executive Director of the Canadian Brownfield Network and the principal at Geosyntec. Join them as they discuss the growing importance of addressing environmental contamination in commercial real estate. Meggen shares her insights on brownfield redevelopment, the challenges of navigating environmental permits, and the need for streamlined processes. The episode also highlights success stories and the lack of financial incentives for brownfield development in Canada compared to Europe and the US.

Topics covered include:

Introduction to the episode and guest
Importance of addressing environmental contamination in Canada
Meggen’s background and experience in the industry
Role of the Canadian Brownfields Network in reclaiming brownfield land
Barriers to brownfield redevelopment
Streamlining the approval process and aligning interests
Off-site liability and risk mitigation
Success stories of brownfield redevelopment in Toronto
Lack of financial incentives and government support

More about our guest…

Meggen has worked in the Canadian brownfields sector for more than 25 years. Prior to joining Geosyntec in 2021, she was the Director of Soil and Groundwater Management and Brownfield Approvals at Waterfront Toronto. She spent six years on the CBN Board of Directors before being named executive director. She served the Board in a number of roles, including the past four years as the co-chair of the conference committee.

In her own words: “I’m enthusiastic for this new challenge, which allows me to continue engagement with my friends and colleagues in the Canadian Brownfields Network.” “Tammy has created a strong foundation for this organisation, and I eagerly anticipate the opportunity to further CBN’s expansion, enhance the membership value, and introduce new programming to reach both our long-standing and new members across the entire breadth of our country.”

Episode Resources

Meggen Janes on LinkedIn
Canadian Brownfield Network Website
Geosyntec Website
Aaron Cameron on LinkedIn
Adam Powadiuk on LinkedIn
First National Website

The post Brownfields & Beyond: Meggen Janes on Revitalising Contaminated Lands in Canada appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

On this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Adam Powadiuk and Aaron Cameron speak with Craig Beattie, Founding Partner and CEO of Perimeter Development Corporation.

Topics covered include:

Perimeter’s strategic approach to urban development and a commitment to fostering community growth
The transformation of Kitchener’s old automotive plant into Google’s largest Canadian office
The adaptive reuse projects and their impact on the local real estate market

More about our guest…

Craig heads the Perimeter team, guiding them through all phases of development from initial acquisition to the completion of award-winning projects. With over twenty-five years in the industry, he recently held increasingly senior roles in leasing and development at First Gulf Corporation.

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Episode Resources:* Craig Beattie on LinkedIn * Perimeter Development Corporation Website

The post How Adaptive Reuse Is Shaping Southwest Ontario with Craig Beattie of Perimeter Development Corporation appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron and Adam connect with Kalen Anderson, CEO at UDI Edmonton Metro, the unified voice and expert resource for the real estate development industry in the Edmonton Metropolitan Region. Kalen discusses her urban planning background, her role at UDI, and her passion for housing. She highlights UDI’s advocacy for the real estate industry and its collaboration with municipal regulators. The conversation covers Edmonton’s growth, downtown revitalization, and Kalen’s vision for the city’s future, emphasizing the importance of a pro-business environment and attracting investment.

Topics covered include:

Kalen Discusses her Background in Real Estate
UDI’s Mandate and Importance in Urban Planning
Transitioning from City Planner to UDI’s CEO
Growth and Development of Edmonton
Overcoming Challenges of Resistance to Development and Rezoning
Downtown Revitalization Challenges
Kalen’s Vision for Edmonton’s Future

More about our guest…

Kalen Anderson is a registered professional planner with a personal and professional commitment to building sustainable partnerships with communities, cities, and city regions. She is the Chief Executive Officer for the Urban Development Institute – Edmonton Metro and previously served as Vice President of Capital Planning and Chief Planner with the National Capital Commission in Ottawa, as well as a Planning Director and senior leader at the City of Edmonton for over a decade.

She is a collaborative decision-making, successful relationship-builder, and strategic communications expert. A passionate and dedicated city-builder, Kalen’s leadership is founded on a broad understanding of urban and regional policy, economic development, and community engagement to support growth and change.

The post Balancing Growth and Affordability: Exploring Edmonton’s Development Landscape with Kalen Anderson appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron and Adam connect with Denis Jones, President and CEO of the Deveraux Group of Companies. Join them as they delve into the fascinating world of commercial real estate. Denis, the President and CEO of Deveraux Group, shares his unique journey from being a doctor to becoming a successful real estate investor and developer. Discover how Deveraux Group has grown to be a major player in the rental market, with thousands of units in its portfolio and exciting development plans. Get insights into the challenges and opportunities in the market, financing strategies, and future expansion plans. Don’t miss out on this engaging conversation.

Topics covered include:

Dennis’ Real Estate Journey
Business Expansion with a portfolio of 5,500 units and 3,700 in the pipeline
Rental Market Challenges and Opportunities
Designing Amenities for Rental Properties
Financing Strategies for New Projects
Future Plans and Expansion
Optimism for the Rental Market
Importance of a Diversified Growth Strategy

More about our guest…

With over 23 years of work experience, Denis remains a passionate and visionary leader in the construction and management of multi-family apartment complexes. His mission is to create and deliver quality, sustainable, and affordable housing solutions for diverse communities across Western Canada. As the President and CEO of the Deveraux Group of Companies, he leverages his medical background, business acumen, and real estate expertise to drive innovation, growth, and performance for the group and its investors.

Denis has been leading the Deveraux Group of Companies since 2008. The business is a diversified group of companies involved in the construction and management of apartment communities. Through the Auctus property income fund, Denis has enabled accredited investors to participate in the group’s projects and benefit from the steady income and capital appreciation of the properties. He has also overseen the development and execution of new business strategies, leases, contracts, and partnerships, as well as the management of operations, finance, and human resources. He has successfully expanded the group’s portfolio, market share, and reputation in the industry while maintaining high standards of quality, safety, and customer satisfaction.

The post Challenges and Opportunities in Commercial Real Estate with Denis Jones of Deveraux Group appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron and Adam connect with Donna Monkhouse, Executive Director of the Alberta Residential Landlord Association (ALRA). Donna discusses her real estate background, ARLA’s mission to educate and advocate for landlords, and the range of services ARLA provides, such as training and resources.

They explore the negative perception of landlords, rental rate affordability in Alberta, and the potential impact of rent controls. Donna highlights the challenges faced by small landlords and the importance of education and communication for a balanced rental market. The conversation concludes with thoughts on Alberta’s rental market future and affordable housing needs.

Topics covered include:

ARLA’s mandate and services
Perception of landlords in the media and public
Affordability of rental rates in Alberta
Efficiency of the rental dispute resolution system
Risks of rent control and increased regulations
Challenges faced by small landlords
Importance of educating landlords and tenants
Future of the rental market in Alberta

More about our guest…

Donna has over 25 years of experience in commercial and residential real estate. She is a Property Manager with vast experience in residential, commercial, industrial, and condominium real estate assets. She is experienced in day-to-day operations and effective team management. She is a self-starter and ensures projects are expedited efficiently and effectively. She understands the value of goals and objectives and ensures they can be met or makes the necessary changes to meet them. Donna has excellent communication and people skills, which are essential to any organization. She is an exceptional problem solver, decision-maker, and detail-oriented.

Episode Resources:

Donna Monkhouse on LinkedIn
ALRA Website
Aaron Cameron on LinkedIn
Adam Powadiuk on LinkedIn
First National Website

The post The Realities of Rental Management: An In-Depth Look with Donna Monkhouse of ARLA appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron and Adam connect with Trevor Casey, Development Manager at Nch’ḵaỷ Development Corporation, the economic development arm of the Squamish Nation. Trevor discusses his work with the Squamish Nation, highlighting their economic development goals and recent equity partnership in real estate projects. He details the SNO development, a significant project involving 11 towers and 6,000 units, which emphasizes reducing vehicle dependency and improving transit. Trevor notes challenges like environmental contamination but praises the support from Vancouver and Westbank Development Corporation. He also mentions the Squamish Nation’s future land use planning and expresses pride in the SNO project’s impact.

Topics covered include:

Trevor explains the role of Nch’ḵaỷ Development Corporation
Discussion on the historical involvement of First Nations in real estate development
Trevor discusses First Nations’ decade-long development partnerships in Vancouver
Background on the SNO development
The community engagement aspect of the SNO projects
The collaboration with Westbank Development Corporation

More about our guest…

Trevor Casey is the Development Manager at Nch’ḵaỷ Development Corporation, with over ten years of experience in the real estate business in Canada. Nch’ḵaỷ Development Corporation was set up in 2018 to develop and manage the nation’s business. Together, we will show leadership, demonstrating to the world how Indigenous Peoples are influencing Canada positively, as much as Canada has had a profound impact on Indigenous Peoples.

The Squamish Nation consists of 23 villages and is comprised of descendants of the Coast Salish Aboriginal people who lived in the present-day Greater Vancouver area, Gibson’s Landing, and the Squamish River watershed. The Squamish Nation has occupied and governed the territory since before recorded history. Its culture is rich and resilient.

The post The Sen̓áḵw Development: A Landmark Project Empowering Indigenous Communities with Trevor Casey of Nch’ḵaỷ Development Corporation appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron and Adam interview Sheila Botting, Principal and President of Americas Professional Services at Avison Young. Join us as we discuss the challenges of housing affordability in Canada and the current state of the office market. We explore potential solutions, such as converting older office buildings into residential units, and discuss the impact of remote work on office space requirements.

Sheila shares her experiences and insights on creating a hybrid work model and designing office spaces for collaboration, professional development, and employee well-being. Don’t miss this engaging conversation on the future of housing and office spaces!

Topics covered include:

Introduction of Sheila Botting and her background in CRE in North America
Canada’s housing affordability challenge and the supply-demand imbalance in Toronto
Sheila suggests converting older office buildings into residential units
The impact of remote work on office space requirements
Importance of designing office spaces to accommodate different work styles and roles
Sheila discusses the future of the office market
Sheila’s experience with a flexible working model
Emphasis on creativity and innovation in the commercial real estate industry

More about our guest…

Over her 36-year career in North American real estate, Sheila Botting has deservedly earned the moniker of a “go-to” commercial real estate advisor. She is currently a member of Avison Young’s Global Real Estate Executive. Throughout her executive real estate career, Sheila has led several multidisciplinary real estate teams and assignments across the industry with owners, investors, and corporate occupiers alike.

At Avison, her mandate is accelerating growth across the Americas for the company’s professional services platform, including corporate real estate, consulting, project management, valuation, and real estate and infrastructure advisory. The firm’s recent integration of GVA in Europe provides a substantive platform to accelerate America’s growth and marketplace opportunity.

Before Avison Young, Sheila was a Senior Partner and Canadian Real Estate Leader with Deloitte LLP and President of Deloitte Real Estate Inc. In this role, she led many substantive assignments worldwide across both public and private sectors, including Deloitte’s corporate real estate strategy and implementation program across Canada. This transformative workplace opportunity redeveloped the firm’s occupier portfolio of some 2 million with major developments at Toronto’s Bay Adelaide East Tower, Montreal’s Deloitte Tower, and others across the country.

Her vision and expertise helped Deloitte transform its “Workplace of the Future,” resulting in significant workplace improvements, productivity gains, and cost savings, along with creating a prototype “Smart Building/Workplace.” In 2016, Toronto Life named Deloitte Tower Toronto the “best new office workplace.” Before Deloitte, Sheila was Executive Managing Director of Cushman & Wakefield, a leading full-service professional firm and a global partner. Sheila led the Canadian professional services operation, including real estate valuation and advisory services for the industry’s most prominent investors, owners, and corporate occupiers.

The post The Future of Housing and Office Space in North America with Sheila Botting appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron and Adam interview John Baird, a retired politician and the ex-foreign Minister of Canada. John is currently a senior advisor at Bennett Jones and Eurasia Group. Join us as we delve into John’s career in politics, discussing his inspiration, challenges, and thoughts on the current state of the Canadian economy. John shares his concerns about low productivity, lack of innovation, and high debt levels, as well as his views on Canada’s relationship with the US and other countries. Don’t miss John’s insights and priorities for the next Canadian government.

Topics covered include:

John’s interest in politics and career choice
Concerns about the Canadian economy
Challenges in the housing market
Canada’s relationship with the US and other countries
Top priorities for the next Canadian government

More about our guest…

John Baird is a Senior Advisor to various enterprises and a former Senior Cabinet Minister in the Government of Canada. An instrumental figure in bilateral trade and investment relationships, Mr. Baird has played a leading role in the Canada-China dialogue and worked to build ties with ASEAN countries. In addition, Mr. Baird has worked closely with international leaders to strengthen security and economic relations with the United States and Middle Eastern countries.

A native of Ottawa, Baird spent three terms as a Member of Parliament and four years as Minister of Foreign Affairs. He also served as President of the Treasury Board, Minister of the Environment, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, and Member of the Canadian Parliament for Ottawa West-Nepean. Before entering federal politics, Mr. Baird spent ten years in the Ontario Legislature, where he served as Minister of Community and Social Services, Minister of Energy, and Government House Leader.

The post The Impact of Government Policies on Canada’s Housing Market with John Baird, Senior Advisor at Bennett Jones and Eurasia Group appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron and Adam interview Randy Gladman, Senior Vice President, National Lead, and Development Advisory at Colliers. Join us as we discuss the challenges and opportunities in real estate development. We cover the need for more affordable housing in Toronto and Vancouver, the difficulties developers face in getting projects approved, and the negative perception of developers. Discover how collaboration between developers and the Government can help address the affordability crisis and meet the rising demand for affordable housing.

Topics covered include:

Development Challenges in Toronto and Vancouver
The gap between Supply and Demand of Affordable Housing
Difficulties in Getting Projects Approved
The Need for Greater Collaboration between Developers and Governments
Tackling the Negative Perception of Developers
The Role of Developers in Building Cities
Addressing the Affordability Crisis with Collaboration and Support
The Impact of NIMBYism (Not in My Backyard) on Development
Effect of Elections on Development Policies

More about our guest…

Randy has more than 17 years of experience in commercial real estate development, leading projects from initial acquisition through the design, approval, site servicing, construction, and disposition processes. In every project he undertakes, Randy focuses on ensuring project objectives are met in conformity with the client’s strategic goals, thereby building a successful client relationship throughout the project lifecycle. Throughout his career, Randy has assembled and managed development design and approval teams of external consultants, including civil engineers, planners, architects, surveyors, and lawyers.

To ensure projects proceed to construction, he is skilled in pursuing required entitlements, including official plan amendments, rezoning, site plan approvals, minor variances, and building permits. Additionally, Randy has earned a reputation in the industry for fostering strong relationships with municipal staff, community stakeholders, and politicians to expedite project approvals.

Randy is a member of the Urban Land Institute, the International Council of Shopping Centres, and the NAIOP Commercial Real Estate Development Association. He has also authored articles about architecture, urban development, and the future of transportation. He earned his MBA at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management in 2006, where he first discovered his passion for land development.

The post Addressing the Affordable Housing Crisis with Collaboration and Support: Insights from Randy Gladman of Colliers appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron and Adam interview Sarah Segal, CEO of simplydbs, a company that empowers CRE decision-makers with resident and user data. The company is a trusted third-party feedback platform for commercial real estate.

Join us as Sarah explains how their products, such as “Shape Your Space,” improve property operations and amenities through resident feedback. She also highlights the positive impact of customer feedback on improving satisfaction and discusses the importance of educating residents about new technology like Wi-Fi thermostats. Overall, the conversation delves into innovative solutions and the value of data analysis in the real estate industry.

Topics covered include:

Introduction and Background of Sarah
simplydbs’s Data Collection and Insights
simplydbs’s product portfolio for CRE developers
Value and Benefits of simplydbs Products
Implementation for Developers
Implementation for Small Property Owners
Impact of Customer Feedback on Customer Satisfaction
Educating Residents on Technology
Sarah’s Perspective on Creating Value in Real Estate

More about our guest…

With over 20 years of experience in the Canadian and Global CRE markets, Sarah has successfully created an extensive network within all industry sectors. She has a strong background in sourcing, executing, and closing complex international and domestic real estate transactions and a history of creating new revenue streams and divisions within organizations.

Sarah’s transactional industry experience includes client and deal origination, brokerage, property, debt, and equity sourcing. She is adept at setting up teams and oversight, client relationship management, property/portfolio strategy analysis, consulting, asset underwriting, financial analysis, and due diligence. Her organizational expansion experience includes creating new revenue divisions, developing and revising sales strategy, and creating new or shifting existing assets to scale.

The post Filling the Demand Data Gap in Commercial Real Estate with Sarah Segal of simplydbs appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron and Adam interview Matt Young, President and CEO of Republic Developments, a Toronto-based city builder focused on creating transformative communities that enrich the lives of those who live, work, and play together.

Join us as we discuss Matt’s journey in commercial real estate, his decision to start his own company, and the challenges he faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Matt shares his experiences with the city planning process and stresses the importance of presenting a clear vision for a project for quick approvals. The conversation also touches on financing and capital raising for new real estate projects and the impact of interest rates on the real estate market, particularly the condo sector. Matt highlights the need for various amenities and attractions to draw people to a community.

Topics covered include:

Matt Young’s Journey in Commercial Real Estate
Building Industry Experience
Starting Republic Developments
The Nuts and Bolts of Developing a Large-Scale Project
Negotiating City Planning and Raising Capital for Projects
Impact of Interest Rates on the Real Estate Market and Condos
Strategies for Creating Vibrant Communities
Incorporating Psychology and Sociology in Design
The need for Design Flexibility and Incorporating Technology in New Projects

More about our guest…

Matt founded Republic in 2019 after a 10-year career helping to grow some of Canada’s largest development firms. Matt is responsible for the oversight and management of Republic and remains focused on project development, acquisitions, human resources, and capital-raising activities.

With 14 years of experience in the real estate development industry, Matt has built a track record of executional excellence, having managed the development of over 15,000 units to date representing approximately 12.2 million square feet and a development value of over 13.5 billion dollars.

Prior to founding Republic, Matt was VP of Development at Capital Developments, where he led all development activities for over seven years and helped grow the business from a start-up builder into one of Toronto’s preeminent development organisations.

Matt is an avid cyclist and the co-founder of UNC (United Nation of Cyclists), a cycling club and racing team dedicated to growing the sport by creating a more inclusive, diverse, and welcoming rider environment. He also sits on the real estate committee for the SHN Foundation, which supports the Love Scarborough campaign, and the fundraising committee for the Hold Em’ For Life charity challenge.

The post Financing and Capital Raising in Commercial Real Estate with Matt Young of Republic Developments appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron and Adam interview Paul Chaput, Senior Vice President at Institutional Property Advisors (IPA), a company specialising in commercial real estate investment and sales, capital markets, and market research.

Join us as we discuss the buyer-seller market in Alberta and Western Canada, including the impact of COVID-19, changing interest rates, and the influx of people moving to Alberta on demand and commercial real estate prices. We also delve into the differences between the Calgary and Edmonton markets, the profile of buyers and sellers in different markets, and the future of real estate in Western Canada. Don’t miss out on these valuable insights into the commercial real estate market in Alberta and Western Canada!

Topics covered include:

A closer look at Institutional Property Advisors (IPA)
The impact of COVID-19 and changing interest rates and fee structures by CMHC
Impact of people moving to Alberta on real estate affordability
Differences between Calgary and Edmonton markets
Profile of buyers and sellers in the market
Development challenges, central infills, and high-density projects in Edmonton
Availability of land and quick entitlement process in Calgary
The future outlook for the Western Canadian market

More about our guest…

“We’re seeing an influx of people moving to Alberta, but it’s not because of an oil boom. It’s more about affordability factors and job opportunities. People can have a good quality of life here without breaking the bank.” Paul Chaput

Based in Edmonton, Alberta, Paul Chaput is a market leader in the disposition and acquisition of multifamily properties throughout British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba provinces. Well-versed in all aspects of the multifamily market, Paul and his team have successfully transacted with developers, pension fund advisors, REITs, insurance companies, and high-net-worth private parties.

Before joining IPA, Paul worked for CBRE Limited and Avison Young. He received his Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Alberta. Paul is a well-regarded speaker and guest lecturer at the University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business and several Real Estate Forums. He is also a member of the Commercial Real Estate Advisory Committee, which advises the Real Estate Council of Alberta on the commercial aspects of the industry.

The post Challenges and Opportunities in Commercial Real Estate in Western Canada with Paul Chaput of IPA appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron and Adam interview Anne McMullin, President and CEO of the Urban Development Institute (UDI), a non-partisan and non-profit association for real estate advocacy to pave the way for tomorrow’s cities.

Topics covered include:

Introduction and Background of Anne McMullin
Purpose and Mission of UDI
Importance of Increasing Housing Supply in BC
Recent Legislation and Progress
Impact of Housing Crisis on Industrial and Commercial Real Estate
Excitement about Upcoming Legislation and Collaboration

More about our guest…

“The most important thing for a Board is to look for people who have integrity, intelligence, experience, and a diversity of views.” Anne McMullinAnne has more than 20 years of professional experience in communications, government relations, and public engagement. She is the President and CEO of the Urban Development Institute (UDI), an association of the real estate and building industry that creates communities, supports thousands of B.C. jobs and drives billions of dollars in economic activity.

Over her 20-year career, Anne has worked as the President and General Manager of the North Vancouver Chamber of Commerce, as a Director of Communications at what is now Port of Vancouver, and as the President of the BC Salmon Farmers’ Association. She was also a Reporter at 107.1 Mountain FM in Squamish and what is now Global TV in Vancouver.

The post Addressing the Housing Crisis in British Columbia: Insights from Anne McMullin of Urban Development Institute appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron and Adam interview Emily Hanna, Managing Partner of Investments at Crown Realty Partners, an integrated investment and management firm for commercial real estate.

Topics covered include:

Emily’s journey from a PhD in Economics to real estate
Adapting to changes: Placing ESG front and center
The value and importance of investing in Infrastructure
The impact of remote and hybrid models on commercial real estate

More about our guest…

Emily is Managing Partner, Investments at Crown Realty Partners, overseeing the firm’s capital raising and ESG functions. She works with the acquisitions, finance, and asset management teams to develop Crown’s responsible investment strategies. Emily is Chair of Crown’s ESG Committee and a voting member of Crown’s Investment Committee, which provides oversight and governance over the firm’s investment decisions.

An active member of the real estate community, Emily is a Past President of NAIOP of the Greater Toronto chapter and Toronto Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW). She also served on the Ted Rogers School of Management Real Estate Advisory Council. Currently, Emily is also a member of the Investment Committee of St. Clement’s School.

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The post Infrastructure Investment and ESG Initiatives in Commercial Real Estate with Emily Hanna of Crown Realty Partners appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron and Adam interview Avtar Bains, President of Premise Properties.

Topics covered include:

Starting in the real estate industry and falling in love with it
Early career challenges
Importance of relationships and value addition for clients
Changing landscape of real estate ownership in Canada
A decision to focus on a family real estate portfolio
Investment strategy across different asset classes
Importance of positive cash flow and market potential
Predicting the next real estate cycle

More about our guest…

Avtar founded Premise Properties, a privately owned real estate investment and development company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 2012. He is responsible for its overall business, including the origination and execution of long-term investment strategies and objectives.

Prior to establishing Premise Properties, Avtar spent over thirty years with Colliers International, most recently as Executive Vice President of the National Investment Team. During his tenure, Avtar represented clients with a particular focus on development and investment properties.

In addition to leading Premise Properties, Avtar currently holds four board positions with Morguard North American Residential REIT, Peterson, Primaris REIT, and UBC Properties Trust.

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The post The Changing Landscape of Real Estate Ownership in Canada: Insights from Avtar Bains, President of Premise Properties appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron and Adam interview Julian Schonfeldt, CIO at CAPREIT.

Topics covered include:

Introduction to Julian Schonfeldt
Discussion on CAPREIT’s data-driven investment approach
Explanation of CAPREIT’s ESG commitment and its focus on energy-efficient buildings
Exploring CAPREIT’s fiduciary and social obligations
The concept of positive leverage and its relation to CAPREIT’s acquisition strategy
The challenges of managing properties and reputation management

More about our guest…

Julian Schonfeldt joined CAPREIT in 2022 and is the Chief Investment Officer. He brings tremendous capital markets experience, having already been a trusted advisor to CAPREIT in his most recent role as Managing Director in the Real Estate Group at RBC Capital Markets. At RBC Capital Markets, Mr. Schonfeldt was responsible for equity and debt capital market transactions, mergers and acquisitions transactions, strategic advisory assignments, and the valuation of major assets and portfolios.

Julian has raised over $15 billion of equity and debt capital and advised on over $10 billion of M&A transactions in the real estate industry. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Carleton University and holds his Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA), Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Chartered Business Valuator (CBV), and US Certified Public Accountant (CPA) designations.

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The post Accountability and Issue-Solving Sessions in EOS Implementation appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron and Adam interview Katie Maslechko, the CEO of the Rental Protection Fund.

Topics covered include:

Introduction to the Rental Protection Fund and its goals
Funding and support for nonprofits and co-ops
Early success and partnerships
Potential federal government support
Challenges with existing federal programs and the need for tailored solutions
Benefits of engaging with a fund as a broker or vendor

More about our guest…

Katie is an award-winning real estate professional with a decade of senior leadership experience. She has an impressive track record of building strategic partnerships across the private development, non-profit, and government sectors to deliver innovative, community-building projects. As Director of Development for Vancouver-based real estate developer Beedie, she was at the helm of groundbreaking projects, including a unique public-private-philanthropic partnership to deliver affordable housing and childcare in the City of Burnaby.

Katie also chairs the Urban Land Institute’s Public-Private Partnership Product Council, comprised of leaders in city-building from across North America in public, private, and quasi-public roles, who gather regularly to discuss innovative partnerships and best practices to spur equitable development and social impact in cities and communities. She previously served as a non-profit board director and on the Urban Development Institute’s Women of UDI Committee.

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The post Filling the Equity Gap: Nonprofits and the Rental Protection Fund with Katie Maslechko appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

On this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Adam Powadiuk and Aaron Cameron speak with David Ward, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Canadian Urban.

Topics covered include:

How Canadian Urban manages $1.2 Billion and consistently ranks #1
Why rental rates are set to skyrocket
Overcoming today’s fundraising struggles and landing big investors
How ESG became the main focus for real estate investment
Where to find the best real estate opportunities in 2024

More about our guest…

David brings over 25 years of experience in commercial real estate to his role at Canadian Urban, where he oversees all of the company’s service offerings, including strategy asset management, performance analysis, leasing, acquisitions and dispositions, financing, and property management. David is a former President of Toronto NAIOP and served on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of NAIOP Corporate in Washington, D.C.

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The post The Winning Real Estate Game Plan for 2024 with David Ward of Canadian Urban appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

On this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Adam Powadiuk and Aaron Cameron speak with Andrew Joyner, Managing Director for Head of Multi-Family at Tricon Residential.

Topics covered include:

The effects of interest rates on apartment buildings
Challenges and opportunities for rental housing developers
How to survive the housing market rollercoaster
Rate cuts, liquidity, and the future of real estate

More about our guest…

Andrew leads Tricon Residential’s Canadian multi-family rental platform, where he designs and implements strategy, sources investment opportunities, and oversees teams responsible for development, construction, and asset management. Before joining Tricon in 2016, Andrew held senior roles at CPP Investments in Toronto, focusing on North American real estate investments, and at Hines in London, UK.

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The post Interest Rates VS Rental Market: Who Wins? With Andrew Joyner of Tricon Residential appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

On this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Adam Powadiuk and Aaron Cameron speak with Tony Irwin, Director and Interim President at the Canadian Federation of Apartment Associations (CFAA).

Topics covered include:

How CFAA shapes the Canadian rental housing landscape
Changing the perspective toward rental housing
The long road to GST reforms and their impact on housing
GST extensions and government grants
Future housing policies and changes

More about our guest…

Tony is currently the President and CEO of the Federation of Rental-housing Providers of Ontario (FRPO). Before joining CCFA, he held several senior roles in the financial services and insurance industries. From 2005 to 2009, Tony was the Executive Director of the Justin Eves Foundation, a non-profit organisation that provides scholarships and bursaries to young people with learning disabilities and those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Additionally, Tony has played significant roles in politics, serving as a Senior Advisor to an Ontario Premier and Executive Assistant to the Leader of the Official Opposition.

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The post Rethinking the Canadian Rental Market with Tony Irwin of CFAA appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

On this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Adam Powadiuk and Aaron Cameron speak with Mark Rothschild, Analyst at Canaccord Genuity.

Topics covered include:

REIT valuation strategies and metrics
The impact of rising interest rates on REIT valuations
Retail investors and REIT prices
Management’s role in REIT analysis
Leverage and distribution yields

More about our guest…

Mark’s background includes positions on the real estate and lodging investment banking team at Salomon Smith Barney, as well as conducting credit analysis for U.S. REITs at Moody’s Investors Service in New York. Mark has been recognized as a top earnings estimator for real estate by Thomson Reuters StarMine. In 2023, he was ranked by TipRanks as the second-top analyst for the financial services sector in North America over the last decade.

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The post Behind the Scenes of REIT Valuation with Mark Rothschild of Canaccord Genuity appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

On this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Adam Powadiuk and Aaron Cameron speak with Jason Castellan, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Skyline Group of Companies.

Topics covered include:

Jason’s transition from renting student rooms to large-scale real estate
Skyline’s strategic investments in less competitive markets
The potential of secondary and tertiary real estate markets
The importance of on-the-ground insights and strong investor relationships

More about our guest…

Since 1991, Jason has been involved in buying, owning, managing, and financing real estate assets that generate income. His enthusiasm for acquiring, managing, and investing in assets has been key to his role as CEO of Skyline Group of Companies since its start in 1999.

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The post From Basement to Big Business with Jason Castellan of Skyline Group of Companies appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

On this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Adam Powadiuk and Aaron Cameron speak with Brad Keast, Head of Development and Construction at Dream.

Topics covered include:

The evolving space of the office market
Transforming heritage buildings into luxury office spaces
ESG strategies in commercial real estate
Sustainable development and social responsibility in office projects
The future of office work

More about our guest…

Brad is an experienced senior real estate executive and social infrastructure board director with a foundation in systems engineering and real estate development. He has successfully led internal teams across design, construction, engineering, investment analysis, and branding, as well as expansive external consultant groups. Brad’s diverse experience also includes managing software development projects for the Canadian Navy’s Command and Control System and overseeing complex mixed-use urban developments.

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The post When Heritage Meets Modernity with Brad Keast of Dream appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

On this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Adam Powadiuk and Aaron Cameron speak with John Peets, Vice President and Head of Office Leasing for Oxford Properties Group.

Topics covered include:

The evolution of office leasing
The hybrid work revolution
Why flexible schedules and quality offices are the future of work
How the shift to hotel-like amenities and service could reshape our workplaces

More about our guest…

John is an experienced business executive with 34 years of experience in commercial real estate, including 23 years as a Vice President for top corporations. He excels in delivering business results and engaging with senior executives, co-owners, stakeholders, and clients.

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The post How Hotel-Like Offices Could Change Your 9 to 5 with John Peets of Oxford Properties Group appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

On this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Adam Powadiuk and Aaron Cameron speak with Jim Costello, Head of Real Estate Economics at MSCI.

Topics covered include:

How to value assets in a changing economic landscape
The net asset value debate in Canadian real estate
Overcoming hesitancy in adjusting asset values in real estate
The paradox of plenty in a stalled market
The US debt markets and real estate trends

More about our guest…

In his role at MSCI, Jim leads the real assets research team, focusing on the Americas, as well as leading capital markets research. Previously, he played a key role in U.S. research at Real Capital Analytics, acquired by MSCI in 2021. Before that, Jim spent 20 years at CBRE.

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The post Valuing Assets in a Volatile Market with Jim Costello of MSCI appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

On this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Adam Powadiuk and Aaron Cameron speak with Celia Chandler, Deputy Executive Director of the Co-operative Housing Federation of Toronto.

Topics covered include:

How the co-op housing model works
The role of nonprofits in creating new housing
Challenges and solutions in co-op housing development
The National Housing Accord

More about our guest…

Celia’s career trajectory showcases her deep commitment to social service and legal expertise, beginning with her graduation in 1990 and rapid movement into a key role at the City of Toronto. This early experience laid the groundwork for her involvement with an environmental NGO before propelling her into law school at 35. Celia’s legal career flourished at Iler Campbell, focusing on nonprofit and cooperative housing, where she dedicated 17 years to resolving communal living complexities, notably in housing cooperatives.

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The post Inside Toronto’s Co-op Housing Movement with Celia Chandler of the Co-operative Housing Federation of Toronto appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

On this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Adam Powadiuk and Aaron Cameron speak with Jonathan Gitlin, President and Chief Executive Officer at RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust.

Topics covered include:

The importance of diversifying portfolios in commercial real estate
Construction challenges and rising costs in real estate
The disconnect between market valuation and net asset value
RioCan’s focus on commercial real estate and residential development
The market’s perception of REITs

More about our guest…

In his role at RioCan, Jonathan aims to improve Canada’s most flexible portfolio and increase value for its unitholders. His role is focused on achieving sustainable growth, reinforcing RioCan’s leadership in ESG practices, and promoting a culture of results. Before joining RioCan, he spent six years in real estate law at McCarthy Tétrault.

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The post How to Stay Ahead in Today’s Real Estate Market with Jonathan Gitlin of RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

On this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Adam Powadiuk and Aaron Cameron speak with Chris Ballard, Chief Executive Officer of Passive House Canada.

Topics covered include:

How passive houses reduce energy usage
The financial benefits of passive house buildings
Why companies must accelerate the adoption of sustainable building practices
The future of Canada’s sustainable commercial real estate

More about our guest…

Chris has an impressive career in public service and consumer advocacy, notably serving as Ontario’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Minister of Housing. He was an MPP for Newmarket-Aurora (2014-18), a Town Councillor in Aurora (2010-2014), and has held leadership roles in consumer organizations.

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The post How Passive Housing Drives a Sustainable Future with Chris Ballard of Passive House Canada appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

On this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Adam Powadiuk and Aaron Cameron speak with Mark Kenney, President and Chief Executive Officer at CAPREIT.

Topics covered include:

The truth about affordability in Canada’s rental market
How to address the housing crisis in Canada
Strategies for value creation in Canada’s apartment sector
Media’s influence on the real estate market
The challenges of financing and construction costs in Canada’s apartment sector

More about our guest…

With over three decades of expertise in the multifamily industry, Mark plays a key role as President and CEO, shaping and executing the strategic vision for CAPREIT. He began his journey with CAPREIT in 1998 and climbed to President and CEO in 2019. As Canada’s leading publicly traded rental housing provider, CAPREIT owns or holds interests in around 67,000 residential units, including apartments, townhomes, and manufactured homes across Canada, the Netherlands, and Ireland. In 2020, the company earned a spot in the S&P/TSX 60 Index.

The post The Real Story of Affordability in Canada’s Rental Market with Mark Kenney of CAPREIT appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

On this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Adam Powadiuk and Aaron Cameron speak with Antonia Botero, Principal at MADDPROJECT.

Topics covered include:

Office to residential conversions challenges and opportunities
The financial and architectural aspects of development
Cost considerations and factors for successful office conversions
Zoning legislation and tax credit programs

More about our guest…

Antonia is the owner of MADDPROJECT, a company that specializes in designing and constructing buildings. As a licensed architect in Florida, New York, and Utah, she builds teams that excel in these fields. Additionally, Antonia is involved in real estate development and focuses on both the construction and design aspects of her projects. Before that, she was a Senior Project Manager at MCR Hotels.

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The post Transforming Commercial Spaces into Homes with Antonia Botero of MADDPROJECT appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

On this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Adam Powadiuk and Aaron Cameron speak with Brian Rosen, President and CEO of Colliers.

Topics covered include:

Colliers’ strategic expansion beyond brokerage
The impact of COVID-19 on Canada’s commercial real estate market
Challenges in valuing assets amid market uncertainty
The rising interest in real estate privatization
The key factors of Colliers’ success
Predictions for Canada’s commercial real estate market

More about our guest…

Brian is an experienced executive renowned for driving success in Strategy and General Management who excels at reviving struggling organizations. He has a wealth of experience in drafting and executing strategies across Canadian, US, and global markets for S&P 500 companies, specifically in B2B Services and Commercial Real Estate sectors. His diverse background includes significant roles in Innovation, Marketing, Strategy, and General Management.

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The post From REIT Privatization to Asset Valuation with Brian Rosen of Colliers appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

On this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Adam Powadiuk and Aaron Cameron speak with Kim Petrin, Deputy City Manager of Urban Planning and Economy for the City of Edmonton. Topics covered include: Edmonton’s success in attracting industrial and logistics investment The future of development in Edmonton Automation and innovation in Edmonton’s real...

The post Shaping the Future of Urban Development with Kim Petrin of the City of Edmonton appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

On this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Adam Powadiuk and Aaron Cameron speak with Brady Welch, Founding Partner of Slate Asset Management. Topics covered include: The four pillars of business in real estate investment Insights into asset classes and market dynamics The future of office space Real estate investments during downturns The...

The post The 4 Pillars of Real Estate Success with Brady Welch of Slate Asset Manage appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

On this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Adam Powadiuk and Aaron Cameron speak with Rob Murchison, Co-founder of Intelligent Buildings. Topics covered include: Addressing technology debt in commercial buildings How data and technology drive sustainable real estate Unlocking cost reduction and decarbonization in commercial buildings Sustainability as a profitable business strategy The...

The post How Tech Innovations Shape the Future of Commercial Real Estate with Rob Murchison of Intelligent Buildings appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

On this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Adam Powadiuk and Aaron Cameron speak with Colin Lynch, Managing Director and Head of Alternative Investments at TD Asset Management. Topics covered include: Insights into global market dynamics in 2023 and beyond Canada’s model for weathering economic and real estate cycles The role of math...

The post How to Effectively Assess Global Real Estate Investment Opportunities with Colin Lynch of TD Asset Management appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

On this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Adam Powadiuk and Aaron Cameron speak with Sherry Larjani, President at Spotlight Development. Topics covered include: The affordable housing crisis Spotlight Development’s 10,000 units project of affordable housing nationwide How to make affordable housing a reality Development delays and economic pressures in the housing industry...

The post Breaking Barriers in Affordable Housing with Sherry Larjani of Spotlight Development appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

On this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Adam Powadiuk and Aaron Cameron speak with Ugo Bizzarri, Chief Executive Officer at Hazelview Investments. Topics covered include: The rise of multifamily apartments The art of long-term investment in real estate development Strategic investment insights for 2024 ESG and sustainability in real estate More about...

The post 2024 Real Estate Forecast with Ugo Bizzarri of Hazelview Investments appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

On this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Adam Powadiuk and Aaron Cameron recall their talk with Glenn Way, President of GWL Realty Advisors, to whom they spoke at the Canadian Apartment Investment Conference in September 2023 in Toronto. Topics covered include: Managing risk and positioning for growth in real estate The importance...

The post Seizing Growth Opportunities in Commercial Real Estate with Glenn Way of GWL Realty Advisors appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

On this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Adam Powadiuk and Aaron Cameron recall their talk with Nurit Altman, Managing Director at RBC Capital Markets, to whom they spoke at the Canadian Apartment Investment Conference in September 2023 in Toronto. Topics covered include: Raising equity and debt in real estate Challenges and opportunities...

The post How Honesty Fosters Long-Term Real Estate Success with Nurit Altman of RBC Capital Markets appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

On this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Adam Powadiuk and Aaron Cameron recall their talk with Amy Price, President at BentallGreenOak (BGO), to whom they spoke at the Canadian Apartment Investment Conference in September 2023 in Toronto. Topics covered include: BGO’s global expansion and diversification strategies Buying and selling a hotel during...

The post Breaking Down Global Real Estate Trends with Amy Price of BentallGreenOak (BGO) appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

In this engaging episode of the CRE podcast, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk welcome a prominent figure in the real estate industry, Michael Broccolini, President, and CIO of Broccolini. The conversation delves into the rich history of Broccolini, their significant role in large industrial projects, notable partnerships with Amazon, and a keen focus on...

The post Navigating Success in Commercial Real Estate with Michael Broccolini of Broccolini appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

On this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Adam Powadiuk and Aaron Cameron recall their talk with Jeffrey Charles, Founding Partner at Cavell Risk, to whom they spoke at the Canadian Apartment Investment Conference in September 2023 in Toronto. Topics covered include: The shift to a harder insurance market in the wake of...

The post Staying at the Forefront of Insurance’s New Frontier with Jeffrey Charles of Cavell Risk appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

On this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Adam Powadiuk and Aaron Cameron recall their talk with Niall Finnegan, Partner at Finnegan Marshall, to whom they spoke at the Canadian Apartment Investment Conference in September 2023 in Toronto. Topics covered include: Niall’s background in construction and how he ended up in Canada Navigating...

The post The Economics of Building in the Canadian Real Estate Market with Niall Finnegan of Finnegan Marshall appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Adam Powadiuk and Aaron Cameron revisit their intriguing conversation with Jaime McKenna, Managing Director and Group Head of Real Estate at Fengate Asset Management. Recorded at the Canadian Apartment Investment Conference in September 2023 in Toronto, this episode provides an insightful look into Jaime’s journey...

The post Building Toronto and Rebuilding Canada with Jaime McKenna of Fengate appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Adam Powadiuk and Aaron Cameron sit down with Scott MacPherson, Executive Managing Director and Head of Capital at Cushman & Wakefield. The trio explore the dynamic landscape of capital markets in Canadian real estate, shedding light on the challenges, evolving investment strategies, and crucial insights...

The post The Evolution of Real Estate Capital Markets with Scott MacPherson of Cushman & Wakefield appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

In this compelling episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Adam Powadiuk and Aaron Cameron engage in an insightful conversation with industry luminary Peter Senst. As the President of Canadian Capital Markets at CBRE, Peter brings over 30 years of experience to the table, leading the National Investment Team in Toronto and overseeing transactions...

The post Canada’s Commercial Real Estate Resilience with Peter Senst of CBRE appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

On this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Adam Powadiuk and Aaron Cameron sit down with Teresa Neto, Chief Financial Officer at Granite REIT, to discuss the current state of the industrial real estate market. Located in Toronto, Granite REIT’s portfolio consists of 134 investment properties representing approximately 55.9 million square feet of...

The post Mastering the 2023-2024 Industrial Real Estate Market with Teresa Neto of Granite REIT appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

We are joined by Ted Davis, Managing Director at Avison Young, in today’s episode at the Southwestern Ontario Real Estate Forum. Ted lives in Guelph, but makes the commute to Downtown Toronto several days each week. Ted explains why investors are increasingly interested in markets like K-W and Guelph as opposed to the GTA. Later,...

The post Outside Investment in SWO Ontario with Ted Davis of Avison Young appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Our guest today at the Southwestern Ontario Real Estate Forum is Tim Kennedy, the Principal of Lowland Properties. Lowland is headquartered in Kitchener, and currently has three other employees (besides Tim).

Tim takes us through his real estate background, including how his father, who was also in the real estate business, influenced his career. He’ll also tell us about the projects Lowland is currently working on and why he prefers living in Kitchener instead of Toronto.

Topics covered include:

How real estate got ingrained in who Tim is.
The way that Tim’s father got him to go job hunting every summer.
Tim’s experience as a broker at Ashlar Urban Realty.
What it was like transitioning from Ashlar to First National.
How Tim ended up making his first investment in Kitchener-Waterloo.
Learning to create positives out of negative situations.
The difficulties Tim faced when starting his own business when the pandemic struck.
A property that Tim had to convince his investors to jump on.
An overview of Lowland’s portfolio and employees.
Why brick and beam properties don’t suit everyone in the long term.
A multi-residential project that Lowland is currently building.
Why the vast majority of Lowland’s acquisitions will remain in KW for the foreseeable future.
Why Tim prefers Kitchener over Toronto for raising his family.
What Tim sees that reinforces his investment thesis in this region.
The reputation of the University of Waterloo.

More about out guest…

Tim Kennedy is a Co-Founder and Principal of Lowland Properties Group, a privately owned commercial real estate investment and management company located in Kitchener, ON. Along with their partners, Lowland owns and manages close to 500,000 sq. ft. across Southwestern Ontario. Lowland is a product of its principals building long-term, positive, transparent relationships over the years, which has become the value base for its dealings with investors, customers, and service providers. At Lowland, Tim heads up capital raises, acquisitions, leasing, and property management functions. Prior to co-founding Lowland, Tim worked in both commercial real estate brokerage, for a boutique Toronto firm and in finance, for one of Canada’s largest commercial lenders. Tim’s passion for the business, and more importantly people, is what drives him every day.

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The post Career Shift to the Equity Side with Tim Kennedy of Lowland Properties appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Jason Castellan is the CEO and Co-Founder of Skyline Group of Companies and joins us on today’s show. The company is located in Guelph, but also has additional offices spanning throughout Canada.

Skyline’s beginnings trace back to the early 90s when Jason and his brother started purchasing single-family homes in Guelph. Jason explains how the company has grown to the size it has today, and also talks about how they decide where and what to invest in.

Topics covered include:

Jason and his brother’s interesting business strategy when they started in the 90s.
Why Jason says a lack of originality led to the business being named Skyline.
What was learned while building up a portfolio of homes in Guelph.
The help that Skyline received from lenders when capital was hard to come by.
How Skyline determined what areas to focus in.
Avoiding competition that is present in larger markets.
Shifting from the GTA to the GTAH.
How separate funds came to exist at Skyline Group of Companies.
The types of retail properties that Skyline gets involved with.
What goes into deciding to invest outside of Southwestern Ontario.
Why Jason is so happy that Skyline doesn’t have any office exposure.
Seeing the return to office as undoing a bad habit.
Looking back at when Jason and his brother realized real estate could be their career path.
Collaboration being one of the major keys of Skyline’s success.

More about our guest….

Jason Castellan has been in the business of purchasing, owning, managing, and financing income-producing real assets since 1991. His passion for asset acquisitions, management, and investment has served him well as the CEO for Skyline Group of Companies since its inception in 1999. Recognized for both his entrepreneurialism and industry expertise, Jason believes that although Skyline has its roots in real estate, it is in the people business. By never losing sight of the fundamentals that spurred Skyline’s early growth, Jason has built a major Canadian real estate company spanning coast-to-coast, consistently attracting passionate, like-minded investors and employees with “star” qualities. As Skyline continues to expand its national presence, Jason maintains a belief in providing accessible and personal service to the business’ investor client group that is an integral part of the company’s growth and success. A graduate of the Ivey School of Business’ exclusive Quantum Shift Program, Jason has been named one of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40, as well as one of Canada’s 40 Most Promising Entrepreneurs. He was also designated a finalist for the prestigious EY Entrepreneur of the Year award.

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The post A SW Ontario Success Story with Jason Castellan of Skyline appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Our guest today at the Toronto Real Estate Forum is Bill Bolender, Vice President, Country Manager at Prologis. Prologis is the largest global owner, developer, and operator of industrial properties. Bill has been in charge of their very large Canadian portfolio for 10 years.

With his expertise in industrial, Bill tells us how unique Canada’s assets are in the portfolio of a global company like Prologis. He gives a run down of why industrial has taken off so much since the pandemic began, along with why he doesn’t see the demand ending any time soon.

Topics covered include:

Is Prologis in the market for land in the current environment?
Why Bill avoids comparing deals in one country to those in another.
The tendency in Canada to not sell property during downturns.
How much inventory a market should be able to absorb each year.
The increasing size of warehouses being built in the Greater Toronto Area.
Changes in values of different sectors at the beginning of Bill’s career versus now.
The factors that have caused industrial to grow so much in the past few years.
Why land price is the most important variable in the costs of industrial deals right now.
What the future of multi-storey industrial is looking like.
If customers in the GTA are interested in renting industrial space above the first floor.
Being prudent about how your competitors are bidding on sites.
Searching for opportunities throughout the country.
Why Bill doesn’t see any relief in sight for vacancy rates.

More about our guest…..

ll Bolender is a Vice President, Country Manager of Prologis. Since starting with Prologis in 2013, Bill has grown the Toronto portfolio from 4 million sq. ft. to 11 million sq. ft. with a further 6 million sq. ft. currently under various stages of development. BIll leads Prologis’ Canadian operations and is responsible for all aspects of Prologis’ platform including; operations, leasing, acquisitions, planning, entitlement and development. Prior to joining Prologis, Bill worked for a major brokerage firm for 15 years focusing on all aspects of industrial real estate across Canada.

The CRE Podcast is powered by First National.

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The post Canadian Industrial in a Global Portfolio with Bill Bolender of Prologis appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Recorded at the Toronto Real Estate Forum, we’re welcoming Jan Kestle. She is the President of Environics Analytics, which provides various industries with analytic data and allows them to understand how different demographic factors influence decisions.

Jan tells us all about the kinds of data collected at Environics, and then talks about the types that real estate companies are interested in lately. She also speaks to what she is seeing in data from the retail and office sectors.

Topics covered include:

Data supporting revitalization is happening at retail stores.
Trends from the pandemic, with arguments for and against them being permanent.
Differences between data sharing tendencies in Canada versus the US.
The conscientiousness that Jan sees from Canadian companies in using ethical data.
Data that Environics can provides about Canada’s immigration numbers.
What Jan is seeing regarding attitudes towards returning to work.
Jan’s history of working closely with the provincial and federal governments.
One of the most interesting pieces of data over the past few years.
The shift towards using data from online sources instead of older types.
Using data that is anonymous yet high quality.
The investment that Bell has made in Environics and what it has allowed for.

More about our guest…

Jan Kestle is President & Founder of Environics Analytics and has been a leader in data and analytics for decades. An expert in using statistics and mathematics to solve social and business challenges, she has worked with hundreds of organizations in all sectors to support their data-driven decision-making. She is a member of the Canadian Statistics Advisory Council, Ted Rogers School of Management’s Dean’s Advisory Council and Western University’s Morrissette School of Entrepreneurship.

The CRE Podcast is powered by First National.

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The post Data in Real Estate with Jan Kestle of Environics Analytics appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Paul Morassutti, who recently became Chairman of CBRE, is our guest in this episode from the Toronto Real Estate Forum. When Paul started his career, he gravitated towards the appraisal and consulting field of real estate and is still in it 30 years later.

After taking us through how he ended up in his current position, Paul gets into what he’s been seeing in the market lately. He reveals the most common questions he gets asked, along with his answers. We’ll also hear his take on how affordable housing is portrayed in the media along with solutions he would like to see.

Topics covered include:

Remembering that people don’t get rich in real estate overnight.
Highly leveraged deals that are happening and why they are dangerous.
How long it will take to understand what the future of office is.
Regulatory risk for multi-family units.
What happens when politicians make decisions based on headlines.
What long-term solution Paul thinks would be best to address affordable housing.
Avoiding getting caught up in negativity.
The extensive involvement in real estate by Paul’s whole family.
Traits of the best consultants.
The challenges with making other people’s professional lives great.
What Paul considers the most rewarding work that he does is.
Conveying value and expressing that you are not a commodity.
Pressure to produce more sophisticated values when appraising.
Questions that Paul gets asked almost daily about the market.
Why this interest rate environment may stick around longer than some people think.

More about our guest…

Paul Morassutti is an AACI, MRICS with over 25 years of experience in the Valuation & Advisory Services business and leads CBRE’s Valuation & Advisory Services team in Canada. Paul has a wide ranging background encompassing all facets of Institutional real estate and land development. He is also a member of CBRE’s Executive Management Committee and Canadian Executive Council. Paul has authored numerous articles and has appeared in and on BNN, Bloomberg News, the CBC, Globe & Mail, National Post among others. He is a frequent guest speaker at commercial real estate conferences and events and has developed and presented multi-day, in-house valuation training for groups such as Realpac, NAIOP, the Appraisal Institute of Canada and Brookfield Financial. Paul is a member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors and sits on the Advisory Board for the Schulich School of Business MBA Program in Real Estate and Infrastructure as well as the ULI Toronto Management Committee. Paul is also a director of Artscape, a not-for-profit organization where he chairs the Portfolio Development Committee.

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The post New Directions with Paul Morassutti of CBRE appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

We’ve got Craig Beattie with us today at the Southwestern Ontario Real Estate Forum. His company, Perimeter Development Corporation, focuses on investing in the region. Of course, Craig also lives in Southwestern Ontario as well.

Craig tells us the reasoning behind moving to Kitchener, and what it was like to work with Google in Perimeter’s first transaction. We’ll also hear about why Craig welcomes more competition to enter the region.

Topics covered include:

How Craig first began investing in the region before starting Perimeter.
The first investment that Perimeter made in Kitchener.
The logistics of adapting space and how machinery was cleared out of that first property.
What it was like transacting with Google.
Where the opportunities in this region have been over the last few years.
Perimeter’s ongoing project which started as an old automotive factory.
Why Craig says it’s great to see more investors entering this market.
Looking at other areas in the region besides Kitchener-Waterloo.
Getting involved with multi-residential properties.
What the capital raising part of Perimeter looks like.
The vision for this region over the next five years.

More about our guest….

Craig Beattie is the Chief executive officer and a founding partner of Perimeter. A graduate of the University of Waterloo, he has close to 20 years of real estate experience with a focus on the development and leasing sectors of the business. Craig thrives on creating vibrant spaces for communities under redevelopment and is actively involved in various associations whose focus is on urban renewal and re-urbanization initiatives.

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The post Tech as Tenants with Craig Beattie of Perimeter Development Corporation appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Our guest on this episode at the Toronto Real Estate Forum is Rosemary Feenan. She is the Executive Vice President, Global Head of Research at QuadReal Property Group. Just before joining us, she held a panel at the conference about the vibrancy of downtowns.

Rosemary continues the topics discussed at her panel, including how the pandemic has altered the vibrancy of cities around the world. We also hear her take on the most livable cities in Canada and the affordability crisis.

Topics covered include:

Rosemary’s education in urban planning and how it led her to become involved with research.
The improvement of data provided by cities.
Analyzing nuances to determine the best investment options.
Demographic metrics that are influencing Canada’s current and future real estate.
The cancelled urban development project proposed by Sidewalk Labs in Toronto.
Pandemic behaviours and how they are continuing in some cities more strongly than others.
What research shows about work from home.
Why commutes can be a good thing for work/life balance.
How e-commerce has changed the geography of cities.
Building real estate based on the choices people are making.
The three Canadian cities recognized internationally for their livability.
Going back to basics to understand how cities work for people.

More about our guest…..

Rosemary Feenan joined QuadReal as Executive Vice President, Research in May 2018. Her focus is on strategic research and analysis in support of QuadReal’s international investment objectives. She was formerly Director of Global Research Programmes at JLL, concentrating on urbanisation, changes in city competitiveness and the impact of technological advances on real estate. She previously held a Board position at Chesterton International and a senior position at CACI Limited. In her early career she worked as a town planner and as a retail analyst. A frequent speaker at international conferences, Rosemary is also a Trustee of the Urban Land Institute and a Fellow of the Society of Property Researchers. She has also served on a number of international advisory councils including the World Economic Forum’s ‘Future of Cities and Urbanisation’ Council.

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The post Analyzing Nuances in Investment with Rosemary Feenan of QuadReal appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Recorded at the Southwestern Ontario Real Estate Forum, we’re welcoming Mitchell Blaine on today’s episode. He is the Executive Vice President at JLL, and was born and raised in Kitchener.

Blackberry’s emergence in the mid-2000s was a huge economic driver for this region, and Mitchell explains the positive effects still being experienced from it today. He also talks about how just 10 years ago he wouldn’t have believed a Real Estate Forum would be taking place in Kitchener, as well as the many benefits of investing in this region.

Topics covered include:

The diversified economy of Southwestern Ontario.
Foreign investment interest that’s been entering Kitchener.
JLL’s new office in Kitchener.
Transportation infrastructure in Kitchener.
Investments from automotive companies in the region.
Mitchell’s background in Southwestern Ontario and his short stint in the GTA.
What it’s like working with national and international companies while being based in Kitchener.
The reinvention that happened in Kitchener while much of the world was struggling with the 2008 financial crisis.
The impact of Blackberry’s tenancy in SW Ontario.
The repurposing of office properties.
An estimation of the office vacancy rates in Kitchener.
Why the distance between Kitchener and Toronto is a strength.
Where local investors find themselves positioned in this market.

More about our guest….

Mitchell joined JLL in 2021 and brings 19 years’ of experience in commercial real estate in the Southwestern Ontario market. His resume includes more than 1077 transactions totalling $3.37B, and he has represented a wide array of global, national and local companies. He has consistently been recognized as a top performer, and his successes can be credited to his profound market knowledge, unsurpassed problem-solving capabilities, communication, transparency and relentless drive to deliver superior results for his clients. Mitchell is a member of SIOR (Society of Industrial and Office Realtors), who are the most capable and experienced industrial and office brokerage practitioners in any market. SIOR represents today’s most knowledgeable, experienced, and successful commercial real estate brokerage specialists.

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The post The Rise of SW Ontario with Mitchell Blaine of JLL appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Michael Cooper, President and Chief Responsible Officer of Dream Unlimited, sits down with us today at the Toronto Real Estate Forum. Dream has a presence in Canada, the US, and Europe, investing both publicly and privately.

Michael talks about how Dream has influenced affordable housing in Canada, and why 2020 was an inflection point for these kinds of initiatives. Later, he comments on the challenges that office is experiencing, plus the fundamentals that keep Canada positioned as a great place to buy real estate.

Topics covered include:

How Dream decides which assets they should invest in.
Being involved with both public and private investing.
Why the level of interest in retail surprises Michael.
Targeting tenants that contribute to the communities they rent in.
Why e-commerce isn’t taking over as much as people expected.
The organizational structure of Dream and why Michael pushes people to learn quickly.
When Michael realized that net zero emissions is so important.
Thinking about how real estate contributed to issues that arose in 2020.
Affordable housing projects that Dream has been involved with.
The creation of MLI Select.
Office going through challenges that it has never seen before.
Strong fundamentals that remain in industrial.
Who taught Michael everything he knows about real estate.
Michael’s opinion that rents are at a fair level when compared to February 2020.
The two asset classes Dream is focusing on, along with green projects.
The biggest risk that Michael sees in real estate investment.

More about our guest…

Michael Cooper is the Founder of the Dream Group of Companies. He is the President & Chief Responsible Officer of Dream Unlimited (TSX: DRM), the Chair & Chief Executive Officer of Dream Office REIT (TSX: D.un) and the Portfolio Manager for Dream Impact Trust (TSX: MPCT.un), one of the world’s first publicly traded impact investing vehicles. Under his leadership, Dream has grown to approximately $10B of commercial real estate and residential development assets under management across Canada, the U.S. and Europe. The concept of building better communities to improve the lives of residents, customers and stakeholders has been engrained in Dream’s extensive history as a developer, owner and asset manager. Through the Dream Impact Trust and Dream Impact Fund, an open-ended private fund dedicated to impact investing, Dream has over $700M in assets under management in this field.

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The post Portfolios Built for the 2020s with Michael Cooper of Dream Unlimited appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Coming at you from the Toronto Real Estate Forum we’ve got Hugh Gorman joining Aaron and Adam in this episode. He is the CEO of Colonnade BridgePort. Hugh started the company in 2009 after managing several real estate portfolios throughout Canada.

Colonnade BridgePort is headquartered in Ottawa, so we’ll hear all about the real estate market in the nation’s capital. Hugh takes us through how each sector is looking right now and gives his thoughts on the influx of capital that Ottawa continues to see.

Topics covered include:

Why it’s a good time to invest in land.
Why the solutions that policymakers offer to affordable housing are often not useful.
What it was like starting Colonnade BridgePort during a tough market.
Colonnade BridgePort’s Ottawa-focused real estate holdings.
The increasing amount of capital flowing into Ottawa.
Types of investors that Hugh has seen in the city over the years.
The positive shift in attitudes that Hugh is seeing from lenders.
The low office occupancy in downtown Ottawa and the ripple effect it has.
Believing that people want to live in urban areas, even with remote work.
The new train line in Ottawa and difficulties it has experienced.
What areas of Ottawa Colonnade BridgePort is investing in.
How Hugh’s girlfriend in high school caused him to be introduced to real estate.
How the new site for the Ottawa Senators stadium is playing out.

More about our guest…

Hugh Gorman, as a recognized leader in Canadian real estate, is committed to helping clients get the best possible return from their invested capital. Over more than 25 years in the industry, he has dealt in every aspect of the real estate lifecycle, from investment and development to management and leasing. Before becoming CEO of Colonnade BridgePort, Hugh was co-founder of BridgePort Realty Capital Partners. His career began at Canderel in 1991. From there, he advanced through progressively senior positions at Camdev, O&Y Properties and finally Oxford Properties, where he was Vice President Industrial, Canada, and Vice President Global Principal Investment. An award-winning contributor to the Canadian real estate and business communities, Hugh has served as president of both BOMA Ottawa and BOMA Canada. He also spent two years on the BOMA International Executive Committee.

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The post Investing in Ottawa with Hugh Gorman of Colonnade BridgePort appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Today we’re at the Toronto Real Estate Forum and joined by Jon Love for his second podcast appearance. He is the Founder and CEO of KingSett Capital, which is a private equity real estate investment firm.

Jon provides his opinion on why it’s best for employees to go back to the office, along with his thoughts on other industry changes that were fueled by the pandemic. He also talks about KingSett’s ongoing efforts to make their buildings greener and why he’s so passionate about doing so.

Topics covered include:

Why Jon is so outspoken about his preference for the return to the office versus work from home.
The remarkable destruction of value in retail assets since the pandemic.
Reasons why the office footprint won’t change, but utilization will.
Three factors caused by the pandemic that are influencing the market today.
Why KingSett has paused some of their projects.
Which sector Jon sees the most opportunity in right now.
Non-core locations in the GTA that are currently getting repurposed.
The importance of amenities across all asset classes.
Hitting net zero carbon goals in older buildings.
Aligning values and efforts with what customers want.
Jon’s career as a retail stockbroker after graduating university.
Why the real estate industry often describes things in ways that its customers don’t understand.
Why Jon feels that his job is trying to make people successful.

Rob Kumer’s episode: https://commercialrealestatepodcast.com/rob-kumer-kingsett/

More about our guest…

Jon Love is the Founder and CEO of KingSett Capital, a Canadian private equity real estate investment business which creates and co-invests in real estate investment solutions to deliver sustainable premium risk weighted returns. Founded in 2002, KingSett has raised $15.4B of equity for its Growth, Income, Urban, Mortgage, Residential Development and Affordable Housing strategies. KingSett has $17B of assets under management in a portfolio of $20B. Jon is a member of the Order of Canada and the Business Council of Canada.

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The post Adapting Assets To A New World with Jon Love of Kingsett appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Mike Czestochowski joins us today for his second appearance on the podcast, recorded at the Toronto Real Estate Forum. He is the Vice Chairman at CBRE and has a particular expertise in land.

We’ll hear about the state of the land market in South Ontario right now, including why deals have slowed down yet there is no panic. Mike also shares his opinion on the recent changes announced for the Greenbelt, which will result in construction on formerly off-limits land.

Topics covered include:

What the land market is like in the Golden Horseshoe right now.
The impact that has come from land being more expensive to finance these days.
A breakdown of how land investors are operating in the market.
How Mike approaches the bid-ask gap.
Why some buyers are getting advice from the wrong people.
An explanation of the different types of land.
Being privy to what politicians’ opinions are about land development.
When Mike thinks the current slowdown in the market will turn around.
The effects of seeing good sites less and less as time goes on.
Mike’s opinion on the recent announcement of the Greenbelt swap in the GTA.
ESG and why Toronto’s E and S are in conflict despite both being important.
Areas that Mike is getting more inquiries about recently.
How much predicting future transit development influences land purchase choices.

Mike’s previous appearance: https://commercialrealestatepodcast.com/mike-czestochoski-cbre/

More about our guest…

Mike Czestochowski is recognized as a leading specialist in the disposition and acquisition of development land within the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and Greater Golden Horseshoe. He began his real estate career in 1984 and is the founding member of CBRE’s Land Services Group as well as a Vice Chairman at CBRE. The Land Services Group comprises eleven real estate professionals.

As an industry leader, Mike has substantial experience in advisory and transaction services with unsurpassed market knowledge, strong client focus and commitment to integrity. Mike has been consistently ranked as one of the Top 10 Sales Professionals for CBRE’s Toronto North Office since 1995 and has been ranked in the Top 10 Sales Professionals for CBRE Canada five times. In 2022, he ranked first in the CBRE Toronto North Office for top sales representatives and earned the inaugural CBRE Canada Change Maker Award for his philanthropy efforts.

Mike has consistently been involved with many high profile transactions, including government mandates, publicly traded companies and Fortune 500 companies. As one of the top land brokers in the GTA, Mike is frequently asked to sit on conference panels, make guest appearances on real estate podcasts and is quoted in credited media outlets.

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At the Toronto Real Estate Forum, we’re welcoming Frank Magliocco back to the show. He is a partner in the Audit and Assurance Group of PwC Canada, and annually takes us through PwC’s Emerging Trends report. Today, of course, he’ll tell us all about what’s hot in 2023.

There were three large trends in the report this time around: price discovery, ESG, and housing affordability. Frank takes us through his thoughts on all of these, while also making predictions on how attitudes towards these areas will continue to evolve throughout the year.

Topics covered include:

How people’s perspective on real estate had a reset last year.
Entering a “price discovery” stage where asset value is difficult to determine.
The driving forces behind ESG coming further into the spotlight.
Housing affordability continuing to be top-of-mind.
Capital not having disappeared, but rather just being on the sidelines.
How motivation towards ESG differs from one type of investor to another.
The importance of ESG not only to tenants, but to employees.
Upcoming incentives for companies with strong ESG efforts regarding loans.
A study from Europe about the advantages of paying attention to ESG.
The increase of home prices in “tertiary cities” since the start of the pandemic.
The gap between housing supply and immigration forecasts.
Why Canada needs innovation to keep up with housing demand.
The possibility of institutional capital reducing their exposure to real estate.
REITs being in a complicated spot right now.

Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2023 report: https://www.pwc.com/ca/en/industries/real-estate/emerging-trends-in-real-estate.html

More about our guest…

Frank Magliocco is a partner in the Audit and Assurance Group of PwC Canada working in the Toronto office. He is also the national leader for the Canadian Real Estate practice.

Frank specializes in auditing, accounting and regulatory matters for real estate companies. He provides advice to clients in the broad real estate sector including property developers, residential construction companies, large national office, industrial and retail property owners, and property managers. In addition, Frank’s experience in the real estate sector includes instructing courses at the Real Property Association of Canada (RealPac), where he is a member of RealPac’s Financial Best Practices Committee.

Frank began his career at PwC in 1989 and became a partner in 2001. Prior to focusing on real estate, he provided assistance with acquisitions, reorganization and debt and equity offerings to a number of private and public companies. He has significant experience with Canadian securities regulation, and has provided assistance with public filings.

Frank is a CA and holds a BComm from the University of Toronto.

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The post Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2023 with Frank Magliocco of PwC 2023 appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Joining Aaron and Adam in the office is Aly Damji. He is Managing Partner, Real Estate at Forum Asset Management. He’s all about multifamily properties in Ontario, so that’ll be what the conversation revolves around today.

Aly tells us about strategic decisions that Forum has made in the way it conducts business that allows them to have several advantages when taking on new projects. We also get his opinion on how housing affordability in Canada can be improved and what opportunities he sees in the current market.

Topics covered include:

Looking at what your exit will be when developing a multifamily building.
What Aly thinks needs to be done at the federal levels to get more rentals built.
Small format housing and why it will be needed in Toronto and Vancouver.
Why getting students out of traditional apartments will help with affordability.
The decision that Aly made on the day that lockdowns were announced in Ontario.
A brief background of Forum’s 25-year history.
The unique aspects of the partnership at Forum.
How much Forum is planning to grow in the next few years.
Advantages of having individual LPs.
Why Forum isn’t focused only on real estate.
Opportunities that Forum has jumped on regarding land deals.
Why Aly isn’t seeing a whole lot of opportunities right now.
The changes expected to transpire on account of Bill 23 passing.

More about our guest…

Aly is focused on originations and overseeing real estate investments. He leverages his exposure to a broad range of asset classes as an urban developer, institutional asset manager and operator of value add/opportunistic investments, to drive growth for Forum and its partners. Aly has transacted and managed on behalf of several institutional, UHNW investors, and believes transparency leads to the sustainability of partnerships.

Prior to joining Forum, Aly was EVP, Investments & Asset Management for Hullmark, a private urban real estate investor/developer in Downtown Toronto. Aly co-led direct acquisitions and led the firm’s asset management and operations functions. In his 7 years at Hullmark, Aly drove significant growth for the company, helping to increase AUM 15x to just under $1B, and co-led the development of partnerships with large scale institutional partners including a REIT, a Toronto-based university and one of Canada’s largest life insurance companies. Over the course of his tenure, Hullmark won several awards of excellence for various projects including two Toronto Urban Design Awards, an Architectural Journal (international) award as well as two NAIOP REX Awards for “Investment Deal of the Year” and “Mixed-Use Development of the Year”.

Prior to Hullmark, Aly spent over 5 years with Westmont Hospitality Group in Toronto, most recently as a Director, Investments. In this role, he was involved with various acquisitions across North America and the asset management of several trophy hotel assets in major markets including Washington DC, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and Seattle.

Over the course of his career, Aly has been involved with principal investments valued at more than $4 billion, arranged debt financings of more than $500 million, and secured over 300 leases resulting in NOI of $40 million. Aly holds an MBA specialized in real estate and a bachelors degree specialized in accounting/finance, both from York University. Aly is also a board member of NAIOP Greater Toronto Chapter, one of the commercial real estate industry’s largest advocacy groups.

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Today we are welcoming back Shaun Hildebrand, President of Urbanation, for his fourth appearance on the podcast. His last time on the show was in June 2020, which was a starkly different time for real estate compared with where we are now in early 2023.

After getting an update on Urbanation’s expansion, Shaun explains what the condo market looks like in the GTA and how we can expect to see it grow. He also talks about the number of assignments happening right now and the impact of condos being rented by a new demographic.

Topics covered include:

The slowdown that was seen in the condo market in 2022.
Why Shaun is concerned about the effects down the road from condos being delayed.
What is driving assignments in the market.
The rental market and how strong it has been for investors, particularly with rent increases.
Markets that are getting interest from investors that normally wouldn’t.
Toronto seeing its largest increase in rent ever, but why that stat can be misleading.
The demographic that is entering the rental market over the past few years.
What Shaun predicts is the ceiling for rental growth per year for the foreseeable future.
Concerns that Shaun has about factors that could encourage rent control.
The impact of condos representing so much of the new rental supply in Toronto.
Why Shaun believes the market is much more resilient than the popular narrative often suggests.

More about our guest….

Shaun leads the team at Urbanation, setting the research agenda and guiding the analytics that form the company’s market insights. He has acted as a key spokesperson for the industry for several years, providing regular commentary to the media, delivering presentations at numerous events and preparing research and forecast reports to a wide variety of stakeholders. Shaun has a Master’s Degree in Economics from Carleton University, and prior to joining Urbanation he managed the GTA housing market analysis team for the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

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Peter Altobelli is back with us today to once again go through his top five key takeaways from the 2022 Toronto Real Estate Forum. Peter is the Vice President of Yardi Canada, which provides many different solutions to the real estate industry.

Unsurprisingly, the most common talking point at the forum was the Canadian economy. We’ll hear Peter’s take on how that will continue to affect real estate investment activity. Later, he explains the changes companies have been making to better accommodate their employees, along with the significance of ESG.

Topics covered include:

1: The Canadian economy and its rising inflation, interest rates, and government debt.
The bumpy ride that Peter is expecting for 2023, and not just in Canada.
Why strength in multifamily should continue despite the economy.
2: The future of workplace.
Companies having to reinvent how they use their space.
Tenants asking owners what they will do for employees.
3: Where is the investment market heading given the change in cost of capital?
Various arguments about how much cap rates have moved.
Aaron’s deduction for why cap rates have gone up.
4: ESG at a crossroads.
Why Peter thinks ESG is going to be the hottest topic in real estate over the next five years.
The actions that companies take regarding ESG and why they must have actual meaning.
5: Thought leadership in the C-suite.
Lessons learned during the pandemic about how people want to live.
When and where pent-up capital will start being deployed.
Why Peter thinks this is the best time to learn about real estate.

More about our guest….

Peter Altobelli is Vice President of Sales and General Manager for Yardi Canada Ltd. Yardi develops industry-leading property and investment management software for all real estate asset classes.

Peter has worked in the technology industry for more than 30 years, with a foundation in software development for the healthcare sector in the 1980s. His first role involved transforming existing software for an outpatient clinic scheduling system and introducing innovative PC technology for what has now become Hamilton Health Sciences.

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Dean Holmes joins us today at the Canadian Apartment Investment Conference. He is Senior Vice President, Residential Operations at QuadReal, and will be talking in-depth about apartments in this episode.

We hear about the contrasts between the Canadian and US market from Dean, particularly regarding rent control and tenant turnover. He’ll also talk about the incorrect approach some developers take towards amenities, plus how rent control can be positioned as an amenity.

Topics covered include:

What skills Dean learned in the military that translate into real estate.
QuadReal’s core mission to produce returns for BC pensioners.
The impacts that rent control has in BC and Ontario.
Why Dean thinks Toronto is a low transaction market compared to US cities.
Resident turnover in Canada versus the US.
Wondering if tenants are aware that new buildings don’t have rent control.
The potential of using rent control as an incentive for tenants.
Where the roughly 10,000 suites in QuadReal’s domestic portfolio are distributed.
Catering to renters-by-choice; people who can afford a home but choose not to buy.
Which amenities Dean sees are being used the most.
How to make sure that people actually want to use a building’s amenities.
Interesting amenities that Dean has seen in the US which may come to Canada.
Staggering rental growth rates in Vancouver.
Uncontrollable expenses that have been increasing.

More about our guest…

Dean Holmes is responsible for the management and operations of QuadReal Property Group’s national residential portfolio. Joining the company in January 2018, Dean brought with him over 25 years of experience in the North American multi-family industry. Prior to joining QuadReal Dean was the Senior Vice President of Operations for Campus Apartments; a national student housing operator based in Philadelphia, PA. Previous to that Dean was the Chief Operating Officer for Madison Apartment Group where he oversaw the private equity firm’s 25,000 unit national multifamily platform. Dean also spent 10 years as a Division Vice President at Berkshire Group overseeing a 21,000 unit national portfolio. Dean is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force. He is a Certified Property Manager Candidate and a member of the Multifamily Advisory Board for TransUnion and the National Multi-Housing Council.

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Returning for his second guest appearance today is Mike Bonneveld, President of Skyline Industrial REIT. Skyline’s portfolio is all industrial and spread throughout Canada, with particular attention being paid to Alberta as of late.

Mike tells us about some of the deals Skyline has been involved in over the past few years, including a deal that they were completing on the day of recording. We hear about the demand and supply for industrial spaces, why it can be desirable to have a warehouse outside of the city, and what markets Mike is keeping his eye on.

Topics covered include:

What the portfolio of Skyline looks like today, aside from being 100% industrial.
Demand for small bay industrial in the past two years.
Properties that Skyline has sold recently.
Why rental increases are easier to execute in the industrial space versus residential.
Deals that would have worked twelve months ago but now don’t.
How much industrial rents have increased across different cities.
Moving warehouses outside of city centres and the benefits that can result.
What deals Skyline has in the pipeline, plus recent closures.
Can the demand keep up with the supply that’s coming online?
Why companies now need more space for inventory.
The potential use of drones making deliveries from industrial warehouses.
What the rest of the year looks like for Skyline.
Reasons why Mike is particularly interested in Calgary, Halifax, and Moncton.
The Clean Energy Fund at Skyline.
Different implementations to make industrial buildings more efficient.

More about our guest…

Mike Bonneveld leads Skyline Industrial REIT and is responsible for its strategic growth and performance. Previous to his current role, Mike led Skyline Group of Companies’ Acquisitions team and was responsible for sourcing all new acquisitions, dispositions, property due diligence, and closing investment transactions for Skyline Apartment REIT, Skyline Industrial REIT, Skyline Retail REIT, and SkyDev. Mike joined Skyline in 2009 and has 28+ years of Canadian Real Estate experience. He has worked with several Canadian investment banks in the field of real estate corporate finance and property brokerage, as well as acquisitions for a public real estate company and valuations and consulting work for an international real estate services firm. He is focused on the continued growth and expansion of Skyline’s industrial real estate investment portfolio through sourcing and facilitating quality acquisitions, creating and maintaining several Canadian industrial development partnerships, and monitoring asset and portfolio performance to ensure maximum, long-term value for unitholders. Mike holds an Honours BA in Urban Development from the University of Western Ontario. Mike also sits on the Board of Trustees for Inovalis REIT and is Chair of its Investment Committee.

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We’re welcoming Don White, President and CEO of Private Pension Partners and Apartment Plus REIT, to the show today. In addition to apartments, the company also holds some street-front commercial space. The company is based in Winnipeg and holds most of its assets within the city as well.

Don talks extensively about the differences between private and public REITs, including the benefits he sees from Apartment Plus being private. Later, the guys discuss issues in Canada with housing supply and what Don thinks needs to be changed to improve affordability.

Topics covered include:

How Don learned about contingency-based income and realized he wanted to get into real estate.
The principle that Apartment Plus REIT was formed upon.
Looking to expand outside of Winnipeg.
Why Don has no interest to take the REIT public.
What raising money looks like for a private REIT.
Shifts that banks have made which have caused raising money to become more difficult.
The volatility of equity markets affecting public REITs, with private ones of course not being directly affected.
Where Don is looking to expand into outside of Winnipeg.
Need for better collaboration in the industry to get units built faster.
Why rent controls benefit the wealthy and advocacy that Don does.
An example of why governments need to be firmer with people about the importance of a growing city.
NIMBYism disrupting housing affordability.

More about our guest…..

Don White is Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Private Pension Partners (“P3”) as well as Chief Executive Officer, Management Representative, and Trustee of Apartment Plus (A+) REIT headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Since 2010 and with over $750M of private real estate stabilized or under development, P3 is a real estate investment management company focused solely on acquiring, developing, or re-positioning, and then actively asset managing predominantly fresh and novel, purpose-built multi-family rental assets across Canada on behalf of A+ REIT, P3 Feeder Funds, and third-party private placement accounts. Apartment Plus (A+) REIT was launched in the fall of 2020 as a private REIT with the mandate to acquire and hold multi-family rental properties providing that it may also hold a maximum of 20% of its net assets in strategic multi-tenant, street-front commercial properties.

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Joining us at the RealREIT conference today is Kevan Gorrie, who is the President and CEO of Granite REIT. The company is industrial-focused and holds property across Canada, the United States, and Europe.

Kevan shares what Granite’s portfolio looks like today, along with changes that have been made to it in the past few years. He tells us about the high amount of value that can currently be found in the US compared to Canada, and also discusses the ever-changing cap rates of today’s market.

Topics covered include:

The acquisition of Kevan’s former company, Pure Industrial, by Blackstone.
An overview of Granite’s portfolio, including geographies and finances.
The thought process behind selling some of assets over the past few years.
Why Kevan decided to grow the company’s presence in Europe.
Rental growth of industrial spaces, especially in the GTA.
Going to the US to get better deals.
Maintaining liquidity and focusing on development.
The difficulty of figuring out how much cap rates have moved.
How expected yields have changed throughout the pandemic.
What Kevan thinks about the recent trend of aiming for shorter terms.
The demand from tenants for building to be energy efficient.

Kevan Gorrie serves as Granite REIT’s President & Chief Executive Officer and has over 20 years of leadership and corporate real estate experience across Canada, the United States and Europe. Since joining Granite in August of 2018, Mr. Gorrie has successfully raised over $4B in equity and debt capital and deployed more than $3.5B towards strategic acquisitions and development. Mr. Gorrie most recently served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Pure Industrial Real Estate Trust (“PIRET”) where he successfully grew and led the business until its strategic sale to Blackstone Property Partners and Ivanhoé Cambridge in May 2018. Prior to joining PIRET, Mr. Gorrie led the industrial business for Oxford Properties Group, the real estate investment arm of a major Canadian pension fund, where he built a platform comprising 13 million sq. ft of income producing properties and development projects across major Canadian industrial markets, encompassing acquisition, asset management, leasing, operations and development.

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Nitin Jain is our guest on this episode recorded at the RealREIT conference. He is the President and CEO of Sienna Living, which offers housing for senior citizens.

The senior living space has a great deal of intricacies compared to other segments of real estate, which Aaron, Adam, and Nitin will discuss. Nitin explains why baby boomers have different expectations of what they expect when moving into long-term care, and we also hear about what Sienna residents have requested from the company.

Topics covered include:

Growing up in India and how Nitin wound up in real estate in Canada.
The quickest thing Nitin had to adapt to when working in senior housing.
What Sienna’s portfolio looks like.
The privilege and responsibility that comes with caring for peoples’ parents.
Which demographics Nitin looks at when making decisions for Sienna.
Issues throughout Canada regarding staffing and what Sienna is doing about it.
Has COVID forever changed the senior living space?
The three things that Nitin discovered through conversations with residents and team members.
What baby boomers expect compared to the previous generation.
The trend of people wanting more choices.
Long-term care versus seniors care.
Regulation implemented for long-term care facilities.
Why getting into this space is difficult but very rewarding.

More about our guest

Nitin Jain is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Sienna Senior Living where he is guided by his conviction that it is a tremendous privilege and responsibility to serve Canada’s seniors. With over 90 high quality assets in Ontario, British Columbia and Saskatchewan, Sienna is one of Canada’s leading operators in the seniors’ living sector. Prior to becoming President and Chief Executive Officer in June 2020, he served as Sienna’s Chief Financial Officer and Chief Investment Officer for six years, overseeing more than $1B in new investments. He has also held senior leadership roles at Canadian Tire and General Electric before joining Sienna. Nitin’s global career experience began as an operational leader in the hotel and hospitality sector, where he rebuilt and re-invigorated large and diverse teams. His capacity for identifying key areas for operational improvement and implementing plans to capitalize on these opportunities, has been a defining feature of his professional career ever since.

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Today we’ve got Salima Rawji, the Senior Vice President of Development at CreateTO. The organization was established by the City of Toronto to manage its portfolio of real estate assets, such as ensuring that single-use assets are minimal.

Because CreateTO is government-owned, their operations are quite different compared to other real estate organizations in Toronto. Salima explains why, including the goals the city is trying to accomplish along with how they measure success.

Topics covered include:

The perspectives and backgrounds of the team built at CreateTO.
Thinking about what the future needs of the city will be.
Some examples of unusual assets owned by the city.
How CreateTO prioritizes which tasks need to be worked on.
Changes that have happened throughout the years due to governing bodies.
Benchmarks used to measure success for the city.
An example of how CreateTO finds land to use to meet city objectives.
Starting every project with the proforma in mind.
Developing mixed-use properties and inspiring others to do the same.
Current projects that Salima is the most excited about.
Aspects that are approached differently by CreateTO compared to private developers.
Why CreateTO works on projects with the most incredible talent.

More about our guest…..

Salima Rawji is an accomplished city builder with a passion for purpose-driven solutions. As the Senior Vice President of Development, she leads CreateTO’s Real Estate Development team including key portfolios such as the City of Toronto’s Housing Now Initiative, which leverages City-owned lands to build affordable housing and mixed income communities. Salima’s commitment to city building extends beyond her role at CreateTO. Throughout her career, she has served on several non-profit boards committed to inclusive and resilient cities. Currently, she is a member of the ULI Toronto Advisory Board, the R-LABS Industry Issue + Transformation Council and serves on the Board of Directors for the CivicAction Leadership Foundation, as well as for the Toronto Foundation, where she chairs the Social Impact Investment Committee.

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Let’s welcome Phil Fraser for this episode. He is the President, CEO, and Founder of Killam Apartment REIT. Killam is based in Halifax and originally had operations only in Atlantic Canada, but now spans Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia as well.

In addition to acquisitions, Killam has also constructed some of their own buildings, which Phil discusses. He also tells us about Atlantic Canada’s population growth hitting unprecedented levels and what Killam is implementing in its buildings to hit ESG targets.

Topics covered include:

Phil’s path from when he first realized he wanted to be involved with real estate.
How Killam got its name.
What the residential investment landscape was like in the early 2000s.
What motivated Phil to expand beyond Atlantic Canada.
Comparing Killam’s approach to that of similar REITs.
When Killam began constructing their own buildings.
The strategy behind partnering on certain projects.
What Phil is doing to manage the risks of rising construction costs.
Combining apartments and condos on the same property.
The fantastic market fundamentals before the pandemic and why Phil was skeptical.
Seeing real population growth in Atlantic Canada in the past five years for the first time in Phil’s career.
Housing supply and why Phil thinks it will continue to be a struggle.
How ESG has converged into our world.
Why Phil thinks Killam is a leader in multi-residential ESG.
Will tenants pay more for a green building?
A driver of lowering water consumption in buildings.
Phil’s prediction for the future of Killam.

More about our guest….

Philip D. Fraser is President and Chief Executive Officer, and a Trustee, of Killam Apartment REIT (TSX:KMP:UN). Prior to the January 2016 REIT conversion, Mr. Fraser held the role of President and CEO, and a Director, of Killam Properties Inc., since its inception in 2000. Since its first acquisition in 2002, Killam has grown to over $4.7B in assets. Today, Killam is one of Canada’s largest residential real estate investment trusts, owning, operating, managing, and developing multi-family apartments and manufactured home communities. Mr. Fraser is a member of the Board of Governors and the Executive Committee at Saint Mary’s University.

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Our guest today is Paul Lessner, who is the Senior Vice President, National Shopping Centre Leasing at JLL. Starting his career in commercial banking, he later decided to follow his passion for real estate. He joined the JLL team this year.

Paul shares everything he’s seeing in retail recently, leading up to the busiest shopping season of the year. He tells us some of the surprising effects that the pandemic continues to have on retail locations, along with the impact that e-commerce is having on retailers.

Topics covered include:

How will this year’s busy shopping season compare to that of previous years?
Why it’s becoming more important to diversify the retail mix in malls.
Labour and other deterrents in the expansion plans of some retailers.
Grocery-anchored, “pandemic proof” retail being in fantastic shape.
If customers meandering around malls is a positive or negative.
Realizing that e-commerce is not the end of retail, but rather a complement.
Why Paul believes that the footprint of A-class malls is going to get bigger.
Collaborating with retailers to bring success for landlords and lenders.
Open-air versus enclosed malls in the United States and Canada.
Which malls have been benefitting from work-from-home and which have been suffering.

More about our guest…

As a seasoned advisor, Paul will lead the Retail Leasing business team and operations across JLL Canada, with a targeted focus on strategies, driving top revenue production, recruitment, engagement, business planning and coaching.

With over 15 years of upper management experience in retail leasing, Lessner brings to JLL a vast amount of knowledge and experience, having previously worked for the largest retail landlords in the country. He developed a unique skill set from working on a diverse portfolio of retail properties and projects, ranging from ground up development leasing to super regional shopping centres.

Lessner earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with a focus on Political Science at Western University.

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This time we’re welcoming Tim Sanderson, the Executive Vice President & National Lead, Retail, at JLL. Throughout his career, Tim has always been involved with retail and real estate, making him the perfect person to gain insight from about the current state of retail in Canada.

Tim takes us through different types of retail properties and explains how each of them are faring in this post-COVID world. He reveals why many shopping malls are back to pre-COVID sales levels, but also explains why some retail assets are having a difficult time recovering.

Topics covered include:

Why retail was under fire even before the pandemic.
The varying effects of the pandemic on pension fund-owned malls versus privately owned ones.
Data sources used for making decisions on trade areas.
Malls moving more towards entertainment rather than fashion.
Why less people are going to malls, yet sales numbers have recovered.
Considerations when adding residential units to retail areas.
A change in consumer habits post-COVID regarding strip malls.
Street-front retail’s continued struggles.
What it was like for Tim to graduate during a recession.
Why bars and restaurants are what create neighbourhoods, and why people sometimes move out of them.
Working with CIBC in the 1980s and how new locations were determined.
Renewed vigor that Tim is seeing from retail landlords right now.

More about our guest….

Based in Toronto, he assists his clients with their expansion programs, site selection and analyses, market strategies and deal negotiation and leads a team of over 45 individuals.

Tim founded and served as CEO for over 25 years at Northwest Atlantic, a successful tenant mandated retail real estate consulting firm. With Northwest Atlantic now part of JLL, Tim brings over 30 years of experience in the real estate industry to the JLL team. Since 1991, Tim has provided tenant representation services to several anchor status retailers throughout Canada, including Apple, Anthropologie, Urban Outfitters, Costco, Restoration Hardware, LA Fitness Cineplex Odeon, The Rec Room, Playdium and Eataly.

Prior to founding Northwest Atlantic, Tim held a number of executive real estate management positions for several national retail chains.

Tim earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and a Master’s degree in Environmental Studies, specializing in Urban Planning and Land Development from York University.

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Curtis Way is back for his second appearance today, his first of which was three years ago at this same Edmonton Real Estate Forum. He is the CEO of RMS Group, which is a fully integrated real estate development company in Alberta.

With the Alberta market behaving quite differently compared to Ontario and BC due to oil boom cycles, Curtis tells us about issues and advantages he has seen in the province. We also get his thoughts on what high oil prices are doing to rental costs and how long he expects this inflationary environment to last.

Topics covered include:

When Curtis believes the current oil boom cycle actually began.
Disruptions in the natural cycle due to increased expenses and supply chain issues.
A construction issue that was solved by having the right relationships.
The prediction Curtis made in 2021 for what interest rates would be in 2022.
Problems with labour that haven’t been an issue in Alberta until recently.
Strong oil prices driving up Albertan rental rates.
Trying to lock in interest rates as soon as possible.
Making sure that you have access to liquidity in this environment.
Some of Curtis’ favourite speeches at this year’s event.
Economic diversification in recent years in Alberta.
How severe Curtis believes inflation will be in the coming years.
The fine line that must be walked when raising interest rates.

More about our guest….

Curtis Way began his career in 1979 in the construction industry for a well-known Edmonton high-rise contractor. Being involved in renovations, industrial buildings and high-rise projects at an early age has been a contributing factor to his success.

Curtis founded the RMS Group in 1996 to assist owners in the complex real estate business. Curtis has personally been involved in the development and construction of over 4 million sq. ft. of real estate in Western Canada and these projects have a value in excess of $500M.

The RMS Group is a fully integrated real estate development company which takes projects from initial inception to completion. After RMS purchases land it has a design and construction team that transforms the land into a new building and in most cases these are residential apartments. Most recently RMS has partnered with Capital Regional Housing to construct Alberta’s first private public affordable to market housing project.

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We’re welcoming Sherry Larjani to the podcast at the Land & Development Conference. She is the President of Spotlight Development, and just finished a panel at the conference regarding affordable housing and inclusionary zoning before recording.

Sherry tells us about what it’s like to be a woman in real estate, and if her experience is different now versus when she first got into the industry. Later, we’ll hear all about Spotlight’s affordable housing project, which is extremely unique with many intricacies.

Topics covered include:

Why everything Sherry learned in school became meaningless on the construction site.
The way that Sherry took advantage of opportunities to grow.
How Sherry was able to make her first partnerships.
How Sherry pivoted when companies told her that her piece of land was too small.
The perception that Sherry faced every day as a female in this industry.
Has the real estate industry and its attitude towards women improved?
What Spotlight is trying to achieve with a new affordable housing project.
The issue with affordable housing usually focusing only on apartments.
Partnering with Habitat for Humanity, among other groups.
Why Sherry believes her project is the best way to tackle affordable housing.
Difficulties in finding investors for this type of impact investing.
CMHC being one of the organizations serious about affordable housing.

More about our guest….

Sherry Larjani is an experienced real estate developer and entrepreneur, with a focus on creating beautifully designed spaces that bring her visions to life. Sherry began her career working as a designer at a luxury architecture firm in Toronto and quickly progressed into building new single-home builds and renovation jobs. In 2010, Sherry created Spotlight Developments, specializing in the acquisition of properties for redevelopment into high density residential, commercial, and mixed-use projects. An advocate for collaboration, she champions inclusivity and teamwork as a foundation for a successful approach towards real estate development.

In 2019, Sherry partnered with Urban Capital to create Reina, a project with Canada’s first all-female development team to raise awareness of gender inequality in the industry and the many roles women can play. In recent years, Sherry has completed numerous projects and partnered with many major developers including Liberty Development, Urban Capital, and others, continuing her life-long legacy in the real estate industry.

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Recorded at the Global Property Market Conference in Toronto, we are welcoming José Pellicer who is Head of Investment Strategy with M&G Real Estate. His company is the second largest real estate investor in the UK, and one of the twenty largest in Europe. Shifting gears in this episode, we’ll hear about the current real...

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Chair of the Edmonton Real Estate Forum, Melanie Ducholke, is our guest in this episode. She is the CFO of Camgill Development Corporation, a real estate company which is based in Edmonton but also has a presence in Ireland. Melanie talks about how being chair on the forum has been going up until the point...

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Brandon Donnelly, the Managing Director of Development at Slate Asset Management, is joining us in this episode. Apart from Slate, Brandon also writes a daily blog for city builders, and has been doing so since 2013. Today’s discussion is going to revolve around making development work and managing its risk in the inflationary environment we...

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Joining us right after her closing panel at the Western Canada Apartment Investment Conference is Shenoor Jadavji. She is the Founder and President of Lotus Capital Corp, and it’s her second appearance on the podcast. Lotus is a relatively small organization, and that’s how Shenoor likes it. She tells us the advantages that this provides...

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At the 2022 Land & Development Conference, Aaron and Adam are speaking with Tsering Yangki. She is Head of Real Estate Finance & Development, Dream Unlimited. After moving to Canada as a refugee whose parents are from Tibet, Tsering realized she wanted to be a part of the decision people make to buy their first...

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We’ve got an expert in affordable apartments on the show today, Ron Lovett. Based in Halifax, he is the Founder and Chief Community Officer of VIDA. The company has rental unites in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Manitoba. VIDA’s goal is to revolutionize affordable communities, so Ron takes us through the many ways in which...

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We’re alongside Rohit Gupta today, President of Rohit Group of Companies. The group has several different divisions that work mostly in Western Canada: Rohit Land, Rohit Communities, Rohit Commercial, and Build Base. With Alberta’s economy picking up, Rohit explains how his company has been utilizing this opportunity in the market. He tells us about a...

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Jeremiah Shamess, joining us at the Land & Development Conference, is making his second appearance on the podcast. He is Senior Vice President, Private Capital Investment Group at Colliers. It’s been a long six years since Jeremiah was first on the podcast, and there’s been a huge amount of progression in real estate since then....

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Arjun Rao, Senior Director of Commercial with Yardi, is our guest today. The theme of today’s conversation is going to be tech enhancing real estate, with examples of how Yardi is pushing the boundaries regarding how you can optimize your real estate through technology. After telling us about what it’s like to work with both...

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Drago Farsang, Chief Innovative Officer at Wyse Meter Solutions, joins us for this episode. Today’s conversation is going to revolve around proptech meeting ESG. Drago’s work focuses on energy efficiency, and Wyse is in the process of rolling out a new software to help with this. We get an explanation on how Wyse meters provide...

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Aik Aliferis, the Senior Managing Director at Institutional Property Advisors Marcus and Millichap, is our guest on today’s show. His career started in Ottawa, but he now sees Canadian real estate holistically. We get an inside look at what Aik is hearing from the biggest companies in Canadian real estate regarding the rapidly changing environment....

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James Ha is with us today at the Western Canada Apartment Investment Conference in Edmonton. He is the President of Boardwalk REIT, which has 70% of its residential properties located in Alberta and Saskatchewan. With western provinces having gone through a very difficult time just a few years ago, James and his team have used...

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At the Western Canada Apartment Investment Conference in Edmonton, we’re joined by Cynthia Jagger. She is Principal at Goodman Commercial, making her a specialist on everything about apartments in Vancouver, where she is based. After giving a rundown of how Vancouver’s real estate market fluctuated throughout the pandemic, we hear from Cynthia about what is...

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Recording at the Land & Development Conference, Aaron and Adam are welcoming Benjamin Tal in this episode. He is the is the Deputy Chief Economist of CIBC World Markets Inc., and a staple at the forums. Fresh off of his market outlook session at the conference, Benjamin talks to us about all things inflation. We...

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Paul Chaput is back for his second guest appearance from the Edmonton Real Estate Forum. He is the Senior Vice President at Institutional Property Advisors, a division of Marcus & Millichap. Paul is a leader in western Canada brokerage, which we’ll be focusing on today. We get taken through how BC, Alberta, and the rest...

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We’ve got Mark Rothschild with us in this episode, back for his second appearance. He is Managing Director, Real Estate Analyst at Canaccord Genuity. He has been with the company for 17 years, and has been covering Canadian REITs for even longer. Mark guides us through Canaccord Genuity’s latest report on Canadian real estate while...

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Aaron and Adam are on their own today to talk about the rising interest rates currently being seen in Canada. It is the first time in many peoples’ careers that we’re seeing an interest rate environment like this. We’ll hear about the implications on the conventional market, on the CMHC-insured product, and on construction. The...

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Joining Aaron and Adam at the Toronto Real Estate Forum is Rob Kumer. He is the President and Chief Investment Officer at KingSett Capital, having originally joined the company in 2004. Rob takes us through KingSett’s investment strategy, including why different funds can participate in the same deal at KingSett, while they sometimes can’t at...

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Back for his third appearance on the show is Michael Betsalel. He is Executive Vice President, Capital Markets, Multifamily with JLL. Formerly focusing on Ontario, Michael now has a large team spread across Canada. This makes himt he perfect guest share teh view of the apartment market at a national level. After giving an overview...

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Frank Magliocco is back in this episode to break down all the findings of the heavily researched Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2022 report. He is a partner in the Audit and Assurance Group of PwC Canada, and has been on the podcast to discuss emerging trends for several years in a row. After giving...

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Today, Peter Altobelli is with us again to do a recap of the 2021 Toronto Real Estate Forum. Peter is the Vice President of Yardi’s Canadian operations, having been involved with the company for about 35 years. Yardi is the largest software provider of real estate technology worldwide. Some time has passed between the forum...

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Andrew Joyner is our returning guest in this episode. He is the Managing Director at Tricon Residential and head of their Canadian apartment platform, tasked with trying to create thousands of brand-new apartment units in the Greater Toronto Area. We hear about what elements Andrew looks for when considering a new area to invest in...

The post The Economics of Apartment Construction with Andrew Joyner of Tricon Residential appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

We’re welcoming a doctor onto the show for the first time in CRE Podcast history. Matthew Trowbridge is the Chief Medical Officer of the International WELL Building Institute and Associate Professor at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. Melissa Jacobs, Senior Director of ESG at First Capital REIT, joins us as well. Matthew and...

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We’ve got a full house of guests in this episode: Ray Wong (Vice President of Data Operations and Data Solutions at Altus), Wendy Waters (Vice President of Research Services and Strategy at GWL Realty Advisors), and Phil Stone (Principal and Head of Canadian Research at BentallGreenOak). These three have been invited onto the show today...

The post Ask The Experts Panel: What to Expect in 2022 appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

In this episode, we’ll be getting into the evolution and future of industrial. Joining the conversation is Allan Perez, CEO of CanFirst Capital Management. Furthermore, he is a Sessional Instructor at Schulich School of Business at York University. Industrial has become the hottest asset class over the last little while, so Allan takes us through...

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Bringing us his data and insight once again today is Ray Wong. He is Vice President of Data Operations and Data Solutions with Altus Group. This time, we’ll be talking about the last few transactions of 2021 and what this year has looked like. Ray dives into the sustained drop in office deals, and explains...

The post 2021 Year End Biggest Deals with Ray Wong of Altus Group appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Today we’ve got two fascinating guests who will give us a great look at the changes transpiring in commercial real estate: Paul Scialla and Brandon Crombeen. Paul is the Founder of both Delos and the International WELL Building Institute, while Brandon is the President of Delos Canada. Paul and Brandon explain the WELL building standard,...

The post Healthy Buildings with Paul Scialla and Brandon Crombeen of Delos appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Last joining us in 2018, Chris Spoke is back on the show. He is the editor of Skyline, a newsletter focused on housing in Toronto. We’re going to do a deeper dive on a topic that Chris touched upon during his last appearance: inclusionary zoning. After examining what has changed regarding supply issues since Chris’...

The post Inclusionary Zoning with Chris Spoke of Skyline Newsletter appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

As part of the Real Estate Forums series, Aaron and Adam are alongside Rosa Lupo. She is a Partner with Gowling WLG in the Corporate Commercial Group based in their Waterloo Region office, one of seven offices in Canada. Rosa talks about the Waterloo housing market before getting into the Tarion new home warranty program....

The post The Developer’s Lawyer with Rosa Lupo of Gowling WLG appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Today we’re talking about the top 5 key takeaways from the recently held RealREIT Conference. To help Aaron and Adam as he often does, Peter Altobelli from Yardi is back on the show. Of course, the main theme of the takeaways is the pandemic and how returning to some kind of normalcy will affect the...

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Peter Altobelli from Yardi is back on the podcast in today’s episode. He’s been with us numerous times to do post-conference wrap-ups, and that continues today as the guys discuss the 2021 Canadian Apartment Investment Conference. We’ll be hearing several results from the Multi-Res Tenant Survey presented at the CAIC, along with analysis on where...

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Ray Wong, Vice President of Data Operations for Altus Group, is our invitee once again in this episode. Today, he’ll be talking about office space in the Toronto and Vancouver markets with Aaron and Adam. We’ll start with Ray going through some current office statistics compared to those of a year ago, most of which...

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Our guest today is Courtney Renaldo, Manager of Presales for Yardi. The discussion in this episode will revolve around the business case for optimizing energy in buildings and managing government requirements. With over 20 years of experience in this industry, she has seen substantial changes. Courtney explains why real estate plays a pivotal role in...

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Jonathan Gitlin, President and CEO of RioCan, is making his third appearance speaking with Adam and Aaron. Jonathan gained the CEO title since his last episode after being the President of the company since 2019. We get deep into RioCan’s operations, including how the company has performed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and dealt with the...

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Marlon Bray, Senior Director of Cost Consulting at Altus Group, is our guest in this episode. This role has Marlon as a jack-of-all-trades throughout the development life cycle, and he says he’s all about adding value and reducing risk. There has been a huge increase in hard costs as we’ve progressed through 2021, so Marlon...

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We are welcoming Matt Picken, Head of Capital Markets for Canada at JLL, as our guest in today’s episode. In addition to being involved in the execution of investment transactions in every asset class, mentoring is another area that Matt is passionate about. Matt goes over how the real estate market is performing today compared...

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First National’s Darryl Bellwood is our guest in this episode. He is best known for working with some of the biggest borrowers in the country, as well as having a major presence in Ottawa. Darryl gives an overview of how multi-unit properties have performed throughout the pandemic along with different strategies used by private versus...

The post Financing the Biggest Borrowers with Darryl Bellwood of First National appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Returning for his third podcast appearance today is Jim Costello, the Senior Vice President at Real Capital Analytics. As an economist, Jim looks at the commercial real estate world and helps people understand the intersection between the performance of the market and the capital that flows into it. With a far-reaching knowledge regarding global flows...

The post Global Capital Flows During COVID with Jim Costello of Real Capital Analytics appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

On the podcast today is Colin Johnston, President – Research, Valuation & Advisory, Canada at Altus Group. With such a large volume of data going through Altus Group, Colin discusses how his company uses data to increase performance and yield of real estate. Several important real estate metrics are compiled and released annually in Canada,...

The post Retail Coming out of COVID with Colin Johnston of Altus Group appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

In this episode, Aaron and Adam are joined by another member of the First National family: Andrew Drexler. He is the Assistant Vice President and possesses a skillset gained from participating in large, complex deals. He has done some of First National’s biggest deals, including The Well in Toronto. Andrew starts off by discussing construction...

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Today we’ve got Daniel Marinovic on the show. He is the CEO and Managing Partner of Forest Gate, a newly created private equity, private debt real estate investment firm. David left his very successful career in institutional real estate and traded it in for an investment thesis, raising some capital and launching his own shop....

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Our guest today is Colin Baryliuk, Executive Managing Director of Investments at KingSett Capital. He has been with the company since 2008 and he shares how tthe company has grown and evolved over that time. We learn about the different funds managed by KingSett, their investment strategies and yield targets. Colin explains the biggest drivers...

The post Deploying Equity with Colin Baryliuk of Kingsett Capital appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Darren Cash, Director of Cost Management and Corporate Occupier Sector Lead in Canada at Tuner & Townsend, joins the podcast today. He’s here to talk about what’s transpiring in the development market across Canada and the recent turbulence in construction costs. COVID-19 has had a large influence on construction costs since lockdowns began in March...

The post Construction Cost Volatility with Darren Cash of Turner & Townsend appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Today’s episode is focused on leadership and how the brokerage industry has evolved, and Chuck Scott is here to share his wisdom. He is the Chief Executive Officer, Canada, at Cushman & Wakefield. Chuck talks about the impact COVID-19 has had on his company and the whole real estate industry, as well as how he...

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In a REF Club episode, today’s episode is with George Przybylowski, the Vice President of Real Estate at Informa Canada. Aaron and Adam believe that the impact George has had on this industry is paralleled by none, making for a particularly interesting episode. George first brings us through the deep history of how the Canadian...

The post Building the Real Estate Forums with George Przybylowski of Informa appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

We’ve got Michael Williams with us in this episode presented by REF Club. He is the Regional Vice President of Quebec and Atlantic Canada at First National. Michael is here to give insight on the state of the financing industry around the country and what is going on specifically in Quebec. Michael explains how COVID-19...

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Aaron and Adam are hosting this episode by themselves today as they give us insight on the world of lending. They will be focusing on five main topics: debt as an investment product, security, underwriting, why commercial loans are not a commodity, and CMHC versus conventional loans. As the guys go through their five topics,...

The post Real Estate Finance with Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk of First National Financial appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Today’s conversation was recored at a recent “ThinkIn” with the Canadian Real Estate Forums. The featured guests were Nick Gaganiaras, Vice President of Supply Chain & Logistics Consulting at Colliers International, while Alistair Pickering, Vice President of Industrial at Oxford Properties Group. Our guests focus on real estate in Toronto and Vancouver, getting into the...

The post The National View on Industrial with Alistair Pickering of Oxford and Nick Gaganiaras of Colliers appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

As a part of the REF Club series, Ray Wong is back on the podcast today. He is the Vice President of Data Operations at Altus Group. In this episode, his focus will be on market trends and top deals thus far in 2021. Ray starts by sharing some data on the five biggest Canadian...

The post 2021’s Biggest Transactions To Date with Ray Wong of Altus Group appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Courtney Cooper is welcomed back to the podcast in this REF Club episode. She is the Principal at Alate Partners and Co-Founder of Proptech Collective. Courtney recently helped produce the Proptech Canada Report, which she’ll be discussing today. We begin by hearing about the cities with the most robust proptech innovation in Canada, and why...

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Andrew Freitas, Head of Canada Markets for WiredScore, is our guest in this episode. WiredScore is the only global connectivity rating platform for real estate. They assess the infrastructure that enables a well-connected building. There are several different scoring systems offered by WiredScore, and Andrew will take us through them and explain which ones are...

The post Buildings Going Digital with Andrew Freitas of WiredScore appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Fraser Roberts talks with Aaron and Adam in today’s episode. He is the CEO of INTECH Risk Management. Fraser has worked with the company for over 15 years, taking over the business from his father in 2014. With the COVID-19 pandemic causing a large impact on the insurance industry, Fraser gets into his thoughts on...

The post A Hard Insurance Market with Fraser Roberts of INTECH Risk Management appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Today we’re talking about environmental, social, and governance (ESG). To help out, we’ve got an expert in this topic: Catherine Marshall. She is a Principal at RealAlts, and has had her finger on the pulse of ESG for over ten years. Catherine tells us about R4 Advisors, a new ESG management consulting company that she...

The post ESG and Real Estate Outperformance with Catherine Marshall of RealAlts appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

In partnership with the Real Estate Forums Club, Brian Kimmel is making his second appearance on the podcast. He is THE expert in finance on retirement homes and senior living, and has been part of the First National team for decades. We begin with Brian painting a picture of how long-term care and retirement homes...

The post COVID-19 and Seniors’ Housing with Brian Kimmel of First National appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

In partnership with the Real Estate Forum, Wendy Waters is back for her fourth appearance on the podcast. She is Vice President, Research Services & Strategy at GWL Realty Advisors, and will be bringing us through the 2020 Canadian Office Tenant Preference Survey. With survey answers being heavily influenced by the COVID-19, Wendy analyzes each...

The post The 2020 Office Tenant Survey with Wendy Waters of GWL Realty Advisors appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Today is another interview that Aaron and Adam recently conducted as part of their partnership with the Real Estate Forum. This time the expert is Ray Wong of Altus Group. He previously appeared on the podcast in June 2020 to discuss the state of the industry during the pandemic. Though we’re still dealing with COVID-19,...

The post 2020’s Biggest Transactions with Ray Wong of Altus Group appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Two guests are with us in this episode: Casey Witkowicz and Brett Miller. Casey is the founder of RYCOM Corporation, while Brett is the CEO of Canderel. Their discussion with Aaron and Adam is about how real estate and technology strategies are working together in the COVID-19 pandemic to lead into an economic recovery. We...

The post Tech Strategies for Real Estate with Casey Witkowicz and Brett Miller appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Robin Kelley, Partner at Groupe Denux based in Victoria, is joining us in this episode. He is a second-generation investor in his family, and owns and manages apartments all across the country but with a focus on the Victoria, BC market. A regular listener of the podcast, Robin takes us through how his family-owned company...

The post West Coast Secondary Market Investment with Robin Kelley of Groupe Denux appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Today we are welcoming Tom Dicker to the show. He is the Vice President and Portfolio Manager, Equity Income Team at Dynamic Funds. A member of several Canadian Real Estate Forums panels in 2020, Tom shares his knowledge on Canadian real estate and its relation to the broader investment world. We hear about why Canada...

The post REITs in the Investment World with Tom Dicker of Dynamic Funds appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

In a Canadian Real Estate Forum webinar, Aaron and Adam are joined by Patrick Armstrong. Although he is not directly involved in commercial real estate, his company, Snaile, provides automated smart parcel locker solutions which can be found in office buildings, apartment buildings, and more. ECommerce deliveries have exploded in 2020 with social distancing measures...

The post COVID-19 and Package Delivery Trends with Patrick Armstrong of Snaile appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

For the second time, we’re joined by President and CEO of The Federation of Rental-Housing Providers of Ontario (FRPO), Tony Irwin. His first appearance came early on in his role at FRPO, so he shares how the oranization has grown over the past few years. Tony gets into the effects of the second wave of...

The post Covid-19 Second Wave and Apartment Performance with Tony Irwin of FRPO appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

In conjunction with the Canadian Real Estate Forum, our guest today is Michael Turner. A speaker at the 2020 Toronto Real Estate Forum, he is the president of Oxford Properties Group. With 2020 being a challenging year for so many, Michael explains why people are integral in getting through the pandemic and why we will...

The post The Value in People with Michael Turner of Oxford Properties Group appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

We have Amy Price joining us in this episode. She is the Managing Partner, Co-Head of US for BentallGreenOak. Given her position, Amy is able to provide us with a look at how real estate investing looks amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in the US and trends that might follow in Canada. BentallGreenOak is active in...

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The largest event of the year just took place virtually, and Peter Altobelli is welcomed back to discuss the top five highlights from the Toronto Real Estate Forum. Peter is Vice President of Yardi Systems and a regular guest on the podcast. With so much good content, it’s hard to narrow it down to just...

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In a Canadian Real Estate Forum webinar, Aaron and Adam are interviewing Colin Lynch today. Colin is Head of Global Real Estate Investments at TD Asset Management. He is responsible for the execution of his company’s global real estate strategy across 120 cities. We hear about Colin’s unique background that provides him with a meaningful...

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Mark Fieder is our guest in this episode. He is President, Canada at Avison Young and has been with the company for 31 years. With such a long tenure in real estate, Mark is no stranger to market crashes like the one experienced in 2020. After providing a history of his time with Avison Young,...

The post Founding a Brokerage with Mark Fieder of Avison Young appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

The Founder and CEO of Allied Properties REIT, Michael Emory, is welcomed by Aaron and Adam in today’s show. The Allied portfolio is centred around “distinctive urban workspace” and Michael has brought his signature asset sub-type to markets across Canada. After discussing how he got into real estate and the formation of Allied, Michael explains...

The post “Distinctive Urban” Real Estate with Michael Emory of Allied Properties REIT appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Anthony Lanni, Executive Vice President, Residential with QuadReal, is with Adam and Aaron today for another Canadian Real Estate Forum webinar in the Thought Leadership series. Anthony represents a portfolio valued at over $4 billion plus more than 30,000 suites in development in 9 cities across Canada. QuadReal has assets in 17 countries, but Anthony...

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Today, Frank Magliocco is back for his third appearance on the podcast. He is the National Real Estate Leader at PwC Canada. Frank is here to discuss key insights from the Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2021 report that was recently published by PwC and the Urban Land Institute. Unsurprisingly, this year’s trends have been...

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President and CEO of Tricon Residential, Gary Berman, is joining Aaron and Adam in this episode. The third representative from Tricon to appear on the podcast, today we get to hear about how Tricon was grown from a small business to a multi-billion-dollar operation. Gary discusses the large investment that has recently been made in...

The post Growth During Adversity with Gary Berman of Tricon Residential appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Continuing their coverage of the Canadian real estate forums, Aaron and Adam have Peter Altobelli on the podcast again today. In this episode, they will be discussing the top five takeaways from the Alberta Real Estate Forum. Alberta had begun remodeling itself before the COVID-19 pandemic began, which is integral in how the province will...

The post Top 5 Highlights: Alberta Real Estate Forum with Peter Altobelli of Yardi appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Our guest today is Brad Cutsey, President of InterRent REIT. After covering the oil and gas sector for TD Securities after university, a merger brought Brad into the real estate sector and he hasn’t looked back since. Brad now oversees all of InterRent’s capital markets activities and shares how he interacts with REIT Analysts and...

The post Investor Relations with Brad Cutsey of InterRent REIT appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Aaron and Adam are here alongside Mark Rothschild in today’s podcast. Mark is an Analyst at Canaccord Genuity with a focus on real estate and REITs, and has an impressive track record with the stocks he covers. Marks talks about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on REITs and what he believes the recovery from...

The post Analyzing the REITs with Mark Rothschild of Canaccord Genuity appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Courtney Cooper is a Principal at Alate Partners. She is a leader in the rapdily growing proptech sector with a growing roster of investments through her company. With her company “empowering entrepreneurs who are rethinking real estate”, Courtney takes us behind the scenes of Alate’s investment decisions. She shares some exciting companies that Alate has...

The post Investing in PropTech with Courtney Cooper of Alate Partners appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

In their third time covering the Fall 2020 forums, Aaron and Adam welcome back Peter Altobelli today to discuss the top five takeaways from the Montreal Real Estate Forum. Peter is the Vice President and General Manager of Yardi, a property management software company. Many of the takeaways apply to most cities in Canada, but...

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Joining us on today’s episode is Mark Goodman. Introduced to the podcast by the Canadian Real Estate Forums, he is the Principal of Goodman Commercial and publisher of the Goodman Report. Mark has brokered some of the biggest real estate transactions in Vancouver and is regarded as a market leader. Coming from a family of...

The post Decades of Selling Vancouver Apartments with Mark Goodman of Goodman Commercial appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Today’s episode is part of the Canadian Apartment Investment Conference series, run by the Canadian Real Estate Forums. Austin Joynes, Vice President of Marketing and Training at Rhapsody, joins Aaron and Adam to discuss the nuances of perfecting the lease-up of apartment buidings. You may think that with such demand for apartments, marketing them would...

The post Marketing Apartments with Austin Joynes of Rhapsody appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

The Vancouver Real Estate Forum recently took place in a digital format. Today, we’re going to hear about the top five highlights from that conference. We have the pleasure of once again welcoming Peter Altobelli, Vice President and General Manager of Yardi, to go through these five key takeaways. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact...

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We are welcoming Brian Rosen in this episode of the podcast. He is the President and CEO of Colliers Canada, the company where Adam started his real estate career. Brian had just one year with Colliers before he was promoted to President and CEO in March of 2020, just as the world got hit with...

The post Pivoting as a Leader with Brian Rosen of Colliers Canada appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Peter Altobelli of Yardi is back for his second appearance on the podcast. He’s here with Adam and Aaron to do something that’s a little different: they’re going through the top five highlights from the 2020 Canadian Apartment Investment Conference. Some points that come up during the countdown include why older properties may have difficulty...

The post Top 5 Highlights: Canadian Apartment Investment Conference 2020 with Peter Altobelli of Yardi appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

We are welcoming back Derek Lobo for his third appearance in today’s episode. He is the Broker of Record at SVN Rock Advisors, having expertise in managing apartments and apartment construction. Derek gets into the coronavirus pandemic and explains in detail why apartments have been such a resilient asset class. He shares his thoughts on...

The post Pandemic Proof Investments with Derek Lobo of SVN Rock Advisors appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Our guest today is Greg Speirs. He is the Executive Vice President, Portfolio Management at Realstar, one of Canada’s largest private owner-operators of rental properties, with over 25,000 units coast-to-coast. Greg shares his experience working in real estate internationally prior to taking on the Canadian market. After, we hear Greg’s thoughts on some of the...

The post Institution Grade Apartments with Greg Speirs of Realstar appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Founder of The Valuegraphics Database, David Allison, is welcomed in this episode. He is best described as “The Human Behaviour Expert,” and these skills have formed the foundation of his company and what they do. The data that David and his company has collected is of great interest to anyone involved in real estate. He...

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Kevin Green, President of Greenwin, is our guest in today’s episode. Greenwin started off as a construction company in 1948 founded by Kevin’s grandfather. Now, they own and manage thousands of properties in Ontario and Quebec. We are taken through the fascinating 70 year history of Greenwin and the many pivots the company has made....

The post Transforming Apartments with Kevin Green of Greenwin appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Aaron and Adam are welcoming Andrew Joyner in today’s episode. He is the Managing Director of Tricon Residential, overseeing all Canadian apartment activities with a pipeline of 4200 units. Andrew has a wealth of experience in both the North American and European real estate markets. Tricon provides a unique perspective on the Toronto market, as...

The post Building a Class A Portfolio with Andrew Joyner of Tricon Residential appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Adrian Rocca is the CEO of Fitzrovia Real Estate and joins us today for his second CRE Podcast appearance. The world has changed since Adrian was on the show in December, so he tells us how the pandemic has affected his business and projects. Though Adrian believes it will take years for the Canadian economy...

The post COVID-19 and Development with Adrian Rocca of Fitzrovia Real Estate appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Our guest today is Clifford Fraser, who is the Chief Business Development Officer at Equiton Inc. After working with several financial firms, he was brought on to Equiton when a close friend wanted his help in starting a real estate company. Equiton has unique ways of finding deals which allows them to avoid bidding wars...

The post Raising Private Equity with Clifford Fraser of Equiton appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Mike Czestochoski, Executive Vice President of CBRE, joins Aaron and Adam in this episode. He specializes in land, and has been buying and selling it for the last thirty-six years. Mike is here to discuss what to expect from GTA land in the near term and beyond. With such a long career, COVID-19 is certainly...

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Today’s episode brings us Brian Sutherland. He is the Industry Principal of Commercial at Yardi and started his own e-commerce company when he was sixteen years old. After getting tired of competing with Amazon, he sold his business and found a new career with Yardi. Based in Santa Barbara, California, Brian provides us with an...

The post Future Risk Analysis with Brian Sutherland of Yardi appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Our guest today is Charlie Deeks, Chief Investment Officer at PIRET (Pure Industrial Real Estate Trust). PIRET is a Blackstone and Ivanhoe Cambridge portfolio company headquartered in Toronto. Industrial assets performed very well through COVID-19, so Charlie discusses this trend and talks about some deals his company has transacted during the pandemic. He talks about...

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Aaron and Adam are speaking with John Fox, Partner at Robins Appleby LLP, in this episode. He has a long-standing relationship working with both the public and private housing sectors on combating affordability issues. Because of John’s expertise, today’s episode focuses on affordable housing in the Greater Toronto Area. The guys discuss the time John...

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Back with another Canadian Real Estate Forums webinar, Aaron and Adam welcome Blair Welch in this episode. He co-founded Slate Asset Management in 2005, which currently has $6.2 billion of assets under management in Canada, the United States, and Europe. Blair explains the three key areas that Slate looks at when considering the purchase of...

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Laurie Payne, Vice President of Development at DiamondCorp, joins us in this episode. The company takes on development projects that others wouldn’t due to their complicated nature. DiamondCorp is best known for their expertise in land entitlement, which can be one of the most profitable but difficult stages of the development process. DiamondCorp has acquired...

The post Land Entitlement with Laurie Payne of DiamondCorp appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Today’s episode is a Real Estate Forums webinar that Aaron and Adam recorded with Paul Finkbeiner. He is the EVP & Global Head of Real Estate at Great-West LIFECO. He oversees $27 billion in real estate assets and was previously the President of GWL Advisors for 18 years. We start off by hearing about Paul’s storied...

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Today’s episode is a Real Estate Forums webinar that Aaron and Adam recorded with John Duda. He is the President of Collier International’s Real Estate Management Services across Canada, which provides property and asset management to $17 billion in real estate. This gives John a great vantage point to all asset classes right across the...

The post Real Estate Forums Presents: John Duda of Colliers International Real Estate Management Services appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Our guest today is Raymond Wong, Vice President of Data Operations and Data Solutions with Altus Group. He’s going to take us through the most current data that apply to the four main asset classes and how they’re fairing in the COVID-19 pandemic. Industrial, multi-res, retail, and office have all been impacted by the pandemic,...

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Alan MacKenzie returns for his second appearance on the podcast to discuss his new role as the CEO of JLL Canada. Alan was with Triovest on his last podcast episode so he starts off by taking us through his thought process when choosing to take on this new challenge. The leadership approach of Alan was...

The post Leadership During a Crisis with Alan MacKenzie of JLL appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Aaron and Adam welcome Mandy Sutherland on today’s show. She is the Senior Consultant of Applied Research and Consulting at Steelcase. Additionally, she is part of a team which is responsible for helping clients discover the next best steps in returning to the office after COVID-19. With a debate on going in the real estate...

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Lance Coulson, our guest today, is the Executive Vice President of the National Apartment Group & Investment Properties Team at CBRE. He operates in Vancouver and specializes in apartments; a perfect skillset to provide us with insight on how that asset class is performing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lance explains some unique aspects of his...

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Today’s topic is insurance, and joining the discussion is Jeffrey Charles. He is the Managing Director at Arthur J. Gallagher Canada. Jeffrey joined the insurance business because of its resilient nature after he experienced the 2008 crash while working in the travel industry. We take a deep dive into insurance, with Jeffrey providing helpful analogies...

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Today’s guest, making appearance number three, is Shaun Hildebrand. He is the President of Urbanation, a small research and consulting firm based in Toronto. They focus on the GTA condominium and rental apartment market, providing subscribers with access to their well researched database. The episode begins with a strong focus on condos, as Shaun provides...

The post COVID-19 and GTA Residential Development with Shaun Hildebrand of Urbanation appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Vanessa Oliver, founder of Regent Street Capital Corp, is our guest in this episode. She is a retail brokerage expert and has closed a large number of lease deals with restaurants as the tenant. The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted restaurant owners and their landlords in a deep and likely long lasting way. Vanessa shares her...

The post COVID-19 and Restaurants as Tenants with Vanessa Oliver of Regent Street Commercial Corp appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Today’s episode is a Real Estate Forums webinar that Aaron and Adam recorded with Jon Love. He is the Founder and CEO of KingSett Capital and was also appointed a member of the Order of Canada in 2018. He has navigated through several recessions in his career and now draws from those experiences as we...

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We are joined by Benjamin Shinewald, the President and CEO of BOMA Canada (Building Owners and Management Association of Canada). Benjamin will admit he doesn’t “technically work in real estate” but his job at BOMA Canada is to support real estate and make it thrive. Benjamin tells us about BOMA Canada’s role as a sustainability...

The post Industry Leadership with Benjamin Shinewald of BOMA Canada appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

We are welcoming back Peter Cuthbert, President and Head of Global Real Estate with Fiera Real Estate. He joins us again to analyze many different aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic and his view on how the economy will recover. Peter informs us of how Fiera has been dealing the crisis and helping its employees, leading...

The post COVID-19 and the Real Estate Recovery with Peter Cuthbert of Fiera Real Estate appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

The CFO of SmartCentres REIT, Peter Sweeney, is our guest in this episode. Peter previously worked with Allied Properties REIT but joined SmartCentres, which was under the name Calloway REIT at the time, for a new challenge at one of the largest retail REITS in Canada. Peter gives an overview of SmartCentres and the many...

The post Diversifying Asset Classes with Peter Sweeney of SmartCentres REIT appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Monika Jaroszonek, CEO and Co-Founder of RATIO.city, is alongside Adam and Aaron in this episode. Monika has had a fascination with cities since a young age which translated into an early career with several architecture companies. She then went on to found her own company to help bring development forward in a data rich world....

The post Data Meets Development with Monika Jaroszonek of RATIO.city appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

President and CEO of Trinity Group, Fred Waks, is our guest featured in this episode. Not long after starting his real estate career in the 1980s, Fred started putting together very large deals and hasn’t stopped since. He begins the show by giving a background on those times and sharing advice for people who are...

The post The Career Arc with Fred Waks of Trinity Development Group appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Alam Pirani brings his 29 years of hotel experience to the podcast to talk about his favourite asset class. He is the Executive Managing Director of Colliers International Hotels. A new area of discussion for the podcast, Alam will talk about the history of the asset class and the effects it is feeling from COVID-19....

The post COVID-19 and Hotels with Alam Pirani of Colliers International Hotels appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Recorded at the RealCapital Conference in February 2020, Lesley Gibson sits down with Aaron and Adam in this episode. She is the Co-Chair of the conference and Chief Financial Officer of CT REIT, which owns a Canada-wide portfolio of assets leased primarily to Canadian Tire. Lesley talks about the strong connection between CT REIT and...

The post A “Triple Net REIT” with Lesley Gibson of CT REIT appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Joining the podcast today is Don Clow, President and CEO of Crombie REIT. Originally from Prince Edward Island, Don began his real estate career in the Maritimes and “retired” in 2004. He begins this episode by telling us the story of how he got back into the industry. With Crombie REIT having a strong relationship...

The post Running a Retail REIT with Don Clow of Crombie REIT appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

In today’s special episode, Aaron and Adam are hosting a physically distant AMA (ask me anything) with Jim Costello. Jim is the Senior Vice President of Real Capital Analytics. Additionally, several guests are here to participate in this AMA to ask a variety of questions related to COVID-19: Steven Gross – Director of Asset Management,...

The post Real Estate Forums Presents: AMA with Jim Costello of RCA Analytics appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Joining us today is Werner Dietl, President and CEO of CBRE Canada. After spending two years in the hotel business, Werner started his career at CBRE and never looked back. Twenty-five years later he has risen to the top of the brokerage world and he shares with us what that journey has been like. Aaron,...

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Peter Altobelli, Vice President and General Manager of Yardi Canada, is welcomed as our guest in this episode. Yardi is the largest provider of real estate software in Canada, and has grown from thirty employees to over seven thousand worldwide. Yardi has quickly pivoted their software capabilities to adapt to some of the challenges that...

The post COVID-19 and the Software Solution with Peter Altobelli of Yardi appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

In today’s quarantine episode, Aaron and Adam are joined remotely by Roelof van Dijk. He works with CoStar Canada as their Director of Market Analytics. In this role, Roelof and his team decipher the real estate information that get put into CoStar’s database to determine what is happening in the market and what will happen...

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Kathy Black is the Vice President of Development for Fiera Real Estate and is our guest on today’s show. She has seventeen years of experience in this field, fully overseeing thirty projects with a total value of over two billion dollars. We begin by hearing about how Kathy and Fiera are coping with the COVID-19...

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As part of the real estate forum series, today’s guest is Jane Helmstadter. She is a Partner at Bennett Jones as well as the firm’s National Co-Head of the Real Estate Practice Group. Jane is an expert in commercial real estate law, having worked at Bennett Jones since 2006 as well as two other law...

The post COVID-19 and the Legal Ramifications with Jane Helmstadter of Bennett Jones appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Michael Betsalel, Executive Vice President at JLL, returns in this episode. He was previously on the show to talk about the impressive volume of 2018 Ontario apartment sales, and today will get into the 2019 numbers. He, Adam, and Aaron will also discuss what the sale market looks like during this COVID-19 pandemic. Ontario’s apartment...

The post COVID-19 and Ontario Apartment Brokerage with Michael Betsalel of JLL appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Back on the podcast today is Jaime McKenna. She is Managing Director, Group Head of Real Estate at Fengate Asset Management. Jaime transitioned to Fengate seven months ago, just in time for the global COVID-19 pandemic. Hear how she is adapting to this radical shift. Last time Jaime was on the podcast she was working...

The post COVID-19 and Running a Fund with Jaime McKenna of Fengate Asset Management appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Derek Lobo, CEO of SVN Rock Advisors, makes his second appearance on the podcast in this episode. The focus of today’s discussion with Aaron and Adam is how apartment landlords can handle and manage rent collection in these unprecedented times, as COVID-19 continues to escalate. With many tenants potentially unable to pay rent, Derek shares...

The post COVID-19 and Apartment Tenant Relationships with Derek Lobo of SVN Rock Advisors appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Today is Aaron and Adam’s first episode recorded in isolation due to the pandemic. They talk about how COVID-19 is affecting the commercial real estate industry and have invited Michael Brooks back on the show to weigh in. He is the CEO of REALPAC and has a vantage point on how the real estate community...

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Aaron and Adam are at the Toronto Real Estate Forum in this episode and are joined by Mark Kenney who is the President and CEO of CAPREIT. He talks about his 22 years at CAPREIT and how they’ve evolved into one of Canada’s largest landlords. CAPREIT has also expanded into Ireland and the Netherlands, so...

The post Owning Apartments with Mark Kenney of CAPREIT appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Karthik Sankaran is our guest today at the Global Property Market Forum. He is the Senior Strategist at Eurasia Group. Karthik’s focus isn’t on real estate, but rather on geopolitical forces that impact the world economy. Still, Aaron and Adam weave Karthik’s knowledge into the context of Canadian real estate. Karthik is asked about his...

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Recorded at the Real Estate Forum, our guest today is Toni Rossi. She is the President of Real Estate at Infrastructure Ontario. With an educational background in science, her summer gig as a brokerage firm receptionist in between semesters turned into a long, successful career in real estate. Toni is the first guest on the...

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Tony Quattrin joins Aaron and Adam in this week’s episode of the CRE Podcast. He is the Vice Chairman of Capital Markets for CBRE in Vancouver. Tony started his career in Toronto but then left for Vancouver and never looked back. There are several key differences between real estate investment in Toronto versus Vancouver, which...

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Alongside Aaron and Adam at the Global Property Market Forum in this episode is Peter Cuthbert. He is the President and Head of Global Real Estate at Fiera Real Estate. Before this role, Peter had several different job titles and brings us through his personal evolution. Fiera made a crucial move after the last financial...

The post Running a Fund with Peter Cuthbert of Fiera Real Estate appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Coming at you from the Global Property Market Forum, Aaron and Adam welcome Jim Costello in this episode. He is the Senior Vice President of Real Capital Analytics, a company which has many offices throughout the world that track real estate trends globally. In addition to his expertise in the Canadian market, Jim spends a...

The post Investing in the Americas with Jim Costello of Real Capital Analytics appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Our guest today is Adrian Rocca, CEO of Fitzrovia Real Estate. He has “lived the dream” by working for an institution and then deciding to strike out on his own two years ago. Adrian has found an incredible of success in a short amount of time, with a large pipeline of apartments in the GTA....

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This episode was recorded at the Toronto Real Estate Forum with the co-chair of the forum, Gary Whitelaw. When he’s not podcasting or speaking at forums, Gary is the CEO of BentallGreenOak, the company formed from the merger of Bentall Kennedy and GreenOak Real Estate in 2018. Gary goes in-depth on why the two companies...

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Aaron and Adam are at the Global Property Market Conference as part of their real estate forum series. They are joined by Brad Olsen, the President of Atlantic Partners. After starting his career as a real estate lawyer, he made the move to the business side with Richard Ellis in 1980 (now CBRE). Atlantic Partners...

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In this edition, Aaron and Adam are joined by Ryan Nelson at the RealTrends Conference in Toronto. He serves as the Director of Investments for The Pearl Group. The Pearl Group has a special focus on retail space in downtown Toronto, prompting Ryan to share his thoughts on this asset class. He also presents the...

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From the Ottawa Real Estate Forum, the guys are joined today by Shawn Hamilton. He is the Senior Vice President and Managing Director of the CBRE Ottawa office. He first got into real estate when his mother’s broker hired him to be an errand runner and he has since risen through the ranks of the...

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At the Ottawa Real Estate Forum as part of the forum series, John Rider joins the podcast in this episode. He is the Senior Vice President of Retail and Commercial Title Insurance at Chicago Title. After seven years as a lawyer, John decided it was time for a change and jumped into real estate. ....

The post Why You Need Title Insurance with John Rider of Chicago Title appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Aaron and Adam continue their conference series today from the Ottawa Real Estate Forum. Joining them is James Beach, Director of Real Estate and Business Development for Broccolini. His company is a multi-asset class, multi-market builder and developer with a 70 year history in Eastern Canada. A particularly impressive and high profile project of Broccolini’s...

The post Building Amazon Warehouses with James Beach of Broccolini appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Aaron and Adam are at the Ottawa Real Estate Forum today as part of their forum podcast series. They are joined by Julie Taggart, VP of Leasing and Operations at Taggart Realty Management. She began there by working in an administrative role for her uncle, Paul Taggart, and has risen through the ranks of this...

The post Multi-Generational Real Estate with Julie Taggart of Taggart Realty Management appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

From the RealTrends Conference in Toronto, this episode’s guest is Susan Rosen. She is a Partner with Gowling WLG and just before recording this podcast, she moderated the cannabis panel at the conference. Susan takes us through her career in real estate law, which she was inspired to pursue because of her family’s involvement in...

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At the Canadian Apartment Investment Conference for the forum series, Rob Geremia joins this episode. He is the President of Boardwalk REIT and has worked with the company for twenty-six years. Boardwalk began entering Western Canada when the real estate market was cooling off decades ago, so Rob tells us how they are dealing with...

The post Adapting to Win with Rob Geremia of Boardwalk REIT appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Frank Magliocco is here for the second part of his interview focusing on the Emerging Trends in Real Estate report published by PwC and ULI. Frank, a Partner at PwC, also sat down with Aaron and Adam last year to review the previous report. In this segment of analyzation, key points of discussion are asset...

The post Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2020: Part 2 with Frank Magliocco of PwC appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Today’s topic is the Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2020 report put out by PwC and ULI. To guide us through this report we welcome back Frank Magliocco, a Partner at PwC who also analyzed last year’s trend report on this very podcast. Frank discusses some of the key points from the report, such as...

The post Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2020: Part 1 with Frank Magliocco of PwC appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

As part of the conference series, the guys are at the Canadian Apartment Investment Conference for this episode. Today’s guest is Henry Morton, and as President of Campus Suites, he is the perfect person to talk to about student housing. Henry describes how student housing has changed throughout his career, along with major differences he...

The post Student Housing with Henry Morton of Campus Suites appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Our guest today is Michael Brooks, CEO of REALPAC. This organization is a trade association which Michael simplifies into four pillars: connect, advocate, support, and educate. Michael took a unique path to get where he is today; he even wrote and passed the Law School Admission Test with no studying. With the term “smart city”...

The post Advocating for the Industry with Michael Brooks of REALPAC appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Coming to you from the Canadian Apartment Investment Conference, James Wilson sits down with the guys today. He is co-chairing the entire conference and is also the Managing Director of Realstar. James talks about the Realstar strategy and pays special attention to the need for affordable housing across the country. He expresses why he loves...

The post The Growth Strategy with James Wilson of Realstar appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Jeremy Wedgbury, Senior Vice President of Commercial Mortgages at First National, is today’s guest. He joins Aaron and Adam to discuss the state of commercial lending in today’s environment. The guys talk about the recent volatile bond prices and what it means for interest rates, how lenders are responding and what we might see in...

The post Lenders’ Roundtable with Jeremy Wedgbury of First National Financial appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Coming to you from the Edmonton Real Estate Forum, today’s guest is Michael Smith. He is the Senior Vice President of Western Canada for ONE Properties. The company was founded in 1987 and focuses its efforts on real estate that makes a difference in peoples’ lives. Michael started his real estate career in Toronto but...

The post Mega-Projects with Michael Smith of ONE Properties appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Dariush Zomorrodi of Blanc Labs is today’s guest. Blanc Labs is a boutique innovation consulting firm based in Toronto with a deep focus on lending, fintech and commercial real estate. Our discussion centred around innovation and how it has changed, and will further change, the commercial real estate industry. Dariush believes that this industry hasn’t...

The post Innovation in Commercial Real Estate with Dariush Zomorrodi of Blanc Labs appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Our guest today is Warren Smithies. He is the CEO of Martello Group, which is a property and real estate management company. Warren is also the Founder and CEO of the Real Estate Owners and Managers Insurance Group (ROMIG). Through research, Warren has found a significant gap in property insurance underwriting. He’s using this knowledge...

The post Changing the Insurance Game with Warren Smithies of ROMIG appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

On the show today is Daniel DeMonte, Partner and CEO of Flat Iron Building Group. He started working in construction during high school and has never looked back. Flat Iron specializes in building out office space. With the office boom going on in the GTA, he is busy. Hear what landlords and tenants are doing...

The post Building the Office Boom with Daniel DeMonte of Flat Iron Building Group appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Adam Paul is today’s guest from the Land & Development Conference in Toronto. He is the President and CEO of First Capital, after spending about ten years with CREIT. We hear about what it was like for Adam to move from one company to another, including how we has interviewed for his position at First...

The post Super-Urban Real Estate with Adam Paul of First Capital appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Scott Ullrich sits down with Aaron and Adam today at the Western Canada Apartment Investment Conference in Edmonton. He is the Chief Executive Officer of Gateway Property Management, which is a family business started by his mother and father. Scott shares his insights on property management across Canada as well as on specifically what Gateway...

The post The State of Property Management with Scott Ullrich of Gateway Property Management appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Tony Irwin is the President and CEO of the Federation of Rental-Housing Providers of Ontario (FRPO). This is the second CRE podcast appearance for FRPO but a first for Tony. Since the last FRPO episode there has been a change in provincial government and approach to housing and affordability in Ontario. Tony joins us to...

The post What’s Holding Back Rental Supply in Ontario with Tony Irwin of FRPO appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Wendy Waters is back for her third appearance on the podcast. The discussion revolves around Canadian demographics and the impact that has on real estate. Of particular interest is the large number of new Canadians in their 20s and 30s. Wendy, Aaron, and Adam also have an in-depth conversation about co-working office space. We hear...

The post The Impacts of Scarcity with Wendy Waters of GWL Realty Advisors appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Peter Senst is the President of Canadian Capital Markets at CBRE, as well as a board member of CBRE Canada. He has transacted over $100 billion in real estate and joins today’s episode at the Land & Development Conference in Toronto. Having completed several very large deals, Peter shares these experiences including Scotia Plaza, which...

The post The Strength of a Great Platform with Peter Senst of CBRE appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Recorded at the Land & Development Conference in Toronto, Brian McCauley is our guest in this episode. He is the President and CEO of Concert Properties. He practiced architecture in Vancouver before joining Concert as a consultant and then realizing that he wanted to move into development. Brian gives insight on projects that Concert has...

The post Master-Planned Masterpieces with Brian McCauley of Concert Properties appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Curtis Way joins us at the Western Canada Apartment Investment Conference in Edmonton. He is the president of RMS Group, which is a fully integrated real estate development company based in Edmonton that specializes in large multi-family properties. Curtis talks about projects that RMS are currently involved in and provides insight on how they are...

The post Innovating Affordable Apartments with Curtis Way of RMS Group appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Jaime McKenna, Chief Investment Officer of the new Minto Apartment REIT, joins us in this episode recorded at the Edmonton Real Estate Forum. She is a CPA who previously worked at Bell Canada before deciding that she wanted to work for a smaller company and get involved with real estate. Jaime discusses in-depth the REIT,...

The post Launching a REIT with Jaime McKenna of Minto Apartment REIT appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Aaron and Adam come to us from the Western Canada Apartment Investment Conference in Edmonton today. They are joined by Paul Chaput, Senior Vice President at Institutional Property Advisors (IPA). Specializing in Alberta and Saskatchewan, Paul talks about changes that have been going on in these markets and how IPA is handling them. He discusses...

The post Western Canada Apartment Brokerage with Paul Chaput of Institutional Property Advisors appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Joining Adam and Aaron today is Frank Magliocco. He is a Partner and Real Estate Leader for PricewaterhouseCoopers Canada. PwC publishes an annual report about the emerging trends in Canadian real estate, which today’s conversation is centred around. The three analyze different sections of the report and focus on topics of interest. These include diversifying...

The post Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2019 with Frank Magliocco of PwC appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Shenoor Jadavji, President and Founder of Lotus Capital Corp, joins the podcast for this episode from the Vancouver Real Estate Forum. Lotus Capital Corp is a real estate investment and asset management firm based in Vancouver. We hear a detailed history about Shenoor’s journey in real estate that led her to creating Lotus. She discusses...

The post Expanding and Diversifying in Real Estate with Shenoor Jadavji of Lotus Capital Corp appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Our guest today from the Vancouver Real Estate Forum is Gina Phillips, the Vice President and General Manager of WeWork for the northwest region. WeWork provides flexible, collaborative office space that is used by freelancers, entrepreneurs, large corporations, and more. Gina gives a thorough explanation of WeWork and why a company would choose to use...

The post Changing the Office Game with Gina Phillips of WeWork appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Recorded at the Vancouver Real Estate Forum, Remco Daal joins Aaron and Adam in today’s episode. He is the President of Real Estate at QuadReal Property Group and is one of the speakers at the forum. Remco talks about his extensive background in real estate investing that led him to establish QuadReal and what he...

The post Building a Real Estate Giant with Remco Daal of QuadReal appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

In this episode we welcome Peter Politis, CEO of Greybrook Realty Partners. Greybrook’s real estate investment portfolio includes over seventy developments and assets across Canada and the United States. Peter discusses the targets that Greybrook tries to reach in every investment they make and his own involvement in these decisions. We hear his opinion on...

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We are provided with a brief overview of blockchain technology, including Matthew’s thoughts on its use cases and recent bad press. He discusses real estate transactions that have already happened using cryptocurrency and how this technology can bring more investors into the space. Topics covered include: The difference between blockchain and Bitcoin. Matthew’s opinion of...

The post Real Estate and Cryptocurrency with Matthew Spoke of Aion appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

With us today is Kevin Leon, Founder and President of Crestpoint Real Estate Investments. Crestpoint is affiliated with the the Connor, Clark & Lunn Financial Group which operates several offices throughout Canada. Kevin provides us with a deep history of how he got started in real estate, including his transition from working with CIBC into...

The post Risk Management with Kevin Leon of Crestpoint Real Estate Investments appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Amy Erixon is welcomed for a second time on today’s episode. She is the Managing Director of Investments with Avison Young in Toronto. Each year, Amy administers the Canadian Multi-Res Tenant Rental Survey and presents it at the Toronto Real Estate Forum. She has recently gotten the results of the 2018 survey which she is...

The post Apartment Tenant Survey Key Findings with Amy Erixon of Avison Young appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Our guest today is Alan MacKenzie, President of Triovest. Triovest is a fully integrated commercial real estate advisory and capital firm. Their approach to commercial real estate investment and management is to continually seek opportunities to improve and enhance properties to achieve their full potential. Triovest consists of three pillars: Triovest Realty Advisors, Triovest Capital,...

The post Asset Management with Alan MacKenzie of Triovest Realty Advisors appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Joining us is Mike Bonneveld, Vice President of Skyline Asset Management. They’re located in Guelph, Ontario, which is a small market for a firm of this magnitude. Their geography reflects their investment strategy; Skyline prefers to invest in small markets. Mike takes us through the reasons for this and the nuances of succeeding in this...

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Michael Betsalel is the Senior Vice President of JLL and is here to talk about apartment brokerage in the Greater Toronto Area. He has been a multi-family specialist on the brokerage side for thirteen years, beginning immediately after he graduated MBA school in 2005. Since then he has risen to become one of the preeminent...

The post Apartment Brokerage with Michael Betsalel of JLL appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Chris Spoke founded Housing Matters, a Toronto advocacy group for increasing housing supply to address the affordability crisis in the city. The group is part of the Yes In My Backyard (YIMBY) global housing movement that shares the same values. We hear about how zoning laws prevent an adequate supply of housing from being built,...

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Today we sit down with Brian Kimmel, the Assistant Vice President at First National and an industry recognized expert on seniors’ housing. He has been with First National for over 20 years and has originated more than $4 billion in commercial financing. Brian teaches us many things. He clarifies the types of seniors housing, discusses...

The post Seniors’ Housing with Brian Kimmel of First National appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Jane Pepino joins us to talk about the reform of the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) and the creation of the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT). Jane is a municipal and land use planning lawyer with Aird & Berlis LLP with a career spanning 40 years. Her clients range from provincial governments, to large developers, to small landowners....

The post The Demise of the OMB with Jane Pepino of Aird & Berlis LLP appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Jonathan King, Partner at Bogdan Newman Caranci Architects, joins us to discuss architecture as a key part of the development process. Jonathan sheds light on the entire process; how a contract is awarded, working with a client through multiple iterations, and finally selling a vision to the community and municipality. We’ll also learn about the...

The post Evolution in Building Design with Jonathan King of BNC Architects appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Blockchain is on the verge of disrupting every aspect of real estate. Most people are familiar with blockchain through the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, but the technology has applications that will impact and revolutionize countless processes in our industry. Understanding blockchain will open your mind to a world of possibilities and the new reality we’re about to enter. Abhishek...

The post Blockchain in Real Estate with Abhishek Sinha of Ernst & Young appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Sitting down with us is Jonathan Westeinde, CEO and co-founder of Windmill Development Group, a visionary real estate development company dedicated to transforming conventional development practices He is an industry-recognized expert on green development and a regular speaker and panelist at conferences. Hear his thoughts on the future of building and sustainability in Canada. Topics covered...

The post Green Development with Jonathan Westeinde of Windmill Development appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Today we’re talking residential development in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). President of Urbanation and previous podcast guest Shaun Hildebrand joins us to discuss the drivers of supply and demand for condominiums within the GTA. The last time we spoke with Shaun (previous episode), the market was adjusting to the idea that condos were not...

The post GTA Residential Development with Shaun Hildebrand of Urbanation appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Today we’re talking living initiatives and urbanization. As the Chief Operating Officer at RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust, Jonathan Gitlin has been leading the way in living evolution within downtown Toronto and throughout Canada. In this episode, Jonathan walks us through the launching of RioCan Living. The company is responding to a shortage of transit...

The post RioCan Living with Jonathan Gitlin appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Alberta has been adapting to a post-energy reality for several years. We are joined by a returning guest, Wendy Waters, senior director of Research Services & Strategy team at GWL Realty Advisors, to talk about the status of the two primary cities in the province of Alberta and how they’re coping. To know more about...

The post Alberta Post-Energy with Wendy Waters of GWL Realty Advisors appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

It’s no secret that we love apartments. We talk about them a lot here on the CRE Podcast, and today we’re joined by Wendy Waters of GWL Realty Advisors to dig deeper into this asset class. Specifically, we’re looking at data points from markets across Canada, with a focus on the largest markets – Toronto...

The post Apartment Trends with Wendy Waters of GWL Realty Advisors appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Today we’re talking to the Treasury Guy. As the Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Capital Markets for First National, Jason Ellis is responsible for not only interest rate risk management, but the funding and securitization of commercial and residential mortgage originations. In this episode, Jason walks us through his over 16 years of...

The post The Treasury Guy with Jason Ellis of First National Financial appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Today we’re talking everything self storage. As managing director with SmartStop Asset Management, Stefan Kulas is responsible for growing their Canadian self storage portfolio through acquisitions, expansions, redevelopments, and new developments. In addition to gaining insight into how SmartStop conducts it’s business, you’ll also learn about the self storage business as a whole, including metrics...

The post Self Storage with Stefan Kulas of SmartStop Asset Management appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

The One at Yonge & Bloor will be Canada’s tallest tower, aside from the CN Tower. When everything is said and done, this superstructure will stand at over 1000ft tall, and come with a price tag of over a billion dollars. Sam Mizrahi of Mizrahi Developments is behind this unprecedented project, and joins us on this...

The post Canada’s Tallest Condo Project with Sam Mizrahi appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

The Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2018 report is here, and there’s plenty to discuss. Chris Potter is a Senior Advisor of the report, authorized by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and the Urban Land Institute (ULI), and he joins us to review the findings. Topics covered include: Top 5 cities to watch. The effect today’s youth are...

The post Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2018 with Chris Potter of PwC appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

“There is no bulletproof tenant” says Sandy Shindleman, President & CEO of Shindico, a commercial real estate and investment management company based in Manitoba. This highlights the need for diversification and keeping assets fresh. Sandy discusses the Winnipeg market, how Amazon and online shopping is affecting retail space, and the types of properties his company...

The post Focus on Winnipeg with Sandy Shindleman of Shindico appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

With a historically low vacancy rate and an exciting future outlook, the evolving Toronto office space market is on the cutting edge of what employers are looking for. What are the latest trends and how are developers keeping up? How does a record low vacancy rate impact the market? What can growing companies do to...

The post Toronto Office Leasing with Brendan Sullivan of CBRE appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Derek Lobo started in the apartment business wanting to help apartment owners make more money. While his roles have changed over the years, his goal has never changed. In this episode, we discuss apartment construction and development across Canada. We discuss feasibility studies, determining what to build and where, amenities, how to properly show apartments,...

The post The Feasibility of Apartment Construction with Derek Lobo of SVN Rock Advisors appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

What does retail look like from a national perspective? We talked to an expert who has completed transactions in over 120 Canadian markets. Matthew Smith is the Executive Vice President – National Retail Investment at Jones Lang LaSalle and has the answers to these questions and many more. Topics covered include: The challenge of national...

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Jon Newton of KPMG calls the proposed Canadian tax changes the “most significant” he’s seen during his career. Hear his expert explanation of the proposed changes, how they apply to the real estate sector, and arguments for and against the tax-reform proposals. Topics covered include: The evolution of taxes and what currently exists for businesses....

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Growing a portfolio in a competitive market isn’t easy, even for the big players. Noah Gordon of Menkes Developments joins us to discuss managing and growing a 3 million square foot commercial portfolio in the GTA. Some of the topics covered include: The history of Menkes Developments. The profitability of spec build industrial. Losing Target...

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Technology is radically changing commercial real estate at a pace that is rapidly accelerating. We discuss what’s on the horizon with Amy Erixon of Avison Young: 3-D printers used in construction. 4-D printing (this will blow your mind). Future proofing your development. Cyber security and hacking building systems. Autonomous vehicles. Artificial intelligence and data...

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Contamination can destroy a property’s value, delay development and kill a loan. Your best protection? An environmental consulting firm. We’ve invited Riyaz Punjani of S2S Environmental to discuss the finer points of: Less obvious signs of potential contamination. Managing the cost of remediation. How lenders view environmental issues. National tenants and their requirements for clean...

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CoStar is relatively new to Canada but a giant in commercial real estate research. In 2015 alone, the company’s 1,600 researchers made more than 12 million calls to verify critical property information and drove more than two million miles to accumulate on-site research data. Every commercial real estate practitioner can benefit from the data they’re bringing to...

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Ontario apartment owners are facing a slew of changes from recent federal, provincial and municipal initiatives. At the federal level, CMHC has changed a number of their policies. Provincially we’ve been introduced to Ontario’s Fair Housing Plan. Toronto is examining a landlord licensing system. Are they positive or negative for apartment investors and builders? We asked Jim Murphy of the Federation of Rental-Housing...

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Real estate associations are an integral part of the commercial real estate world. They connect professionals to each other, provide advocacy and education, as well as acting as a hub between the different disciplines within the industry. Richard Joy joins us to discuss the role of the Urban Land Institute Toronto (ULI) but we couldn’t...

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Mid-market transactions are a very large and highly active part of the commercial investment world in Canada. We are joined by Greg Peacock, Managing Director of the Private Capital Investment Group at Colliers International, to discuss. Here are the highlights; Private Capital vs Capital Markets. Defining mid-market transactions in a GTA context. Foreign investment in...

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Where is commercial real estate headed in 2017? The Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2017 Report can tell you. Authored by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and the Urban Land Institute (ULI), this report provides an in-depth look at the key trends and outlook in Canada and the USA real estate markets. We are joined by Chris Potter,...

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Aaron and Adam discuss the headlining making news from 2016 that had the biggest impact on Canadian commercial real estate. January Calgary Office Space hits 18% Vacancy. Avison Young Acquires Appraisal firm Metrix Ontario. NexusCrowd Successfully raises $500K for GTA industrial redevelopment in JV with Downing Street Realty Partners. Google unveils new 185K SF...

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Development land in major Canadian markets is in dwindling supply and ever increasing in value. We are joined by Jeremiah Shamess, a development land specialist with Colliers International, to discuss. Here are the highlights; The subjective nature of determining land value. Sourcing new land opportunities. “If it hasn’t had an unsolicited offer on it, it’s probably...

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Sean Fleming of Metropia joins us to discuss building condos in Toronto and Calgary. With a total of 18 current projects between the two markets, his insight and knowledge is sharp. Here’s what we discuss: Metropia’s founding and backers. Overcoming difficulties in acquiring new sites. The value in partners for multiple projects and sharing good...

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Conventional wisdom says the condo market is over-built and apartment proformas don’t work in the GTA. The data says the exact opposite and the numbers are truly incredible. Shaun Hildebrand of Urbanation joins us to discuss his findings in the newly released Q3 2016 Market Update (Download it here) In this episode: Rent per square...

The post What the Data Says About High Rise Rental with Shaun Hildebrand of Urbanation appeared first on Commercial Real Estate Podcast.

Apartment construction has taken off in most markets across Canada. John English of Tricon Capital joins us to discuss what it takes to develop large apartment buildings. In this episode: Tricon’s position in the US and Canadian marketplace. Tricon’s shift away from being a mezzanine lender. The Selby – a 502 unit apartment development...

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As the retail industry is looking for options to adapt to a new reality, pop-up shops offer a sophisticated way of adding value to a property and increasing net operating income. Our guest this week is Adam Bent of thisopenspace, a company that is on the leading edge of connecting landlords and the brands who...

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What is Commercial Mortgage Backed Security (CMBS)? Dave Morrison of First National Financial joins us to discuss the role of CMBS in Canada, covering years 1998 to present. The History…. Its roots in the US market and Merrill Lynch’s role in establishing the Canadian market Asset Backed Commercial Paper (ABCP) spreads then and now...

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Ryan McAskile recently made the leap into syndicating private equity full time in commercial real estate. We discuss all of the ups and downs associated with year one including: The use of blind pools versus funding specific deals. Raising equity without a track record. First deal without a track record. Picking his geography and why...

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The retail asset class is in flux due to major market forces. We are joined by Yash Kumar, Vice President, Retail & Investment Services at Lennard Commercial, who is our expert this week. Topics include: Sears closing locations The reasons why Target failed and the ensuing repercussions Higher yield tenants for landlords Cap rates in...

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Industrial spec build in the GTA is on fire at the moment. We interview Chad Weatherell, a construction expert and Director, Business Development at Urbacon. Urbacon has been active in some of the largest GTA projects for the last 30 years and is currently building spec industrial. We finish off the show discussing Anbang Insurance‘s purchase...

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This is episode 1 and we’re bursting with pride. We thought we’d use this opportunity to introduce ourselves and the goals of the show, which is why we’ve gone without a guest. We also discuss several news items that are making waves in the commercial real estate, including rising office vacancy rates in Saskatchewan and...

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