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.

The CRE Podcast is powered by First National.

In partnership with Canadian Real Estate Forums.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

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.

The CRE Podcast is powered by First National.

In partnership with Canadian Real Estate Forums.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

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. 

The CRE Podcast is powered by First National.

In partnership with Canadian Real Estate Forums.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

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.

The CRE Podcast is powered by First National.

In partnership with Canadian Real Estate Forums.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

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.

The CRE Podcast is powered by First National.

In partnership with Canadian Real Estate Forums.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

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.

The CRE Podcast is powered by First National.

In partnership with Canadian Real Estate Forums.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

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.

The CRE Podcast is powered by First National.

In partnership with Canadian Real Estate Forums.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

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.

The CRE Podcast is powered by First National.

In partnership with Canadian Real Estate Forums.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

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 estate market from a global perspective. José gets into why Europe is seen as the leader of real estate ESG and why he believes that value-add is going to be ideal for investment this year.

Topics covered include:

• How Spain’s high unemployment rate in the 90s encouraged José to get into real estate.
• Why the current environment is different than previous downturns José has experienced.
• The definition of “core” investments and why M&G focuses on them.
• José’s prediction that outward pressure on cap rates will be limited to 2022.
• Opportunity for value-add that may be coming soon.
• Going up the risk curve as the yield curve rises.
• The market most insulated from the current market turbulence.
• Europe’s influence in North American properties focusing on ESG.
• Financial penalties by regulators in Europe if ESG is not taken seriously.
• Investing in sustainable materials to get to the net zero target.
• What caused vehicles to become more fuel efficient and how it relates to real estate.
• Considerations when investing in countries directly impacted by the Russia/Ukraine situation.
• What is being seen in various Asian countries.

More about our guest…

José Pellicer joined M&G Real Estate as Head of Investment Strategy in August 2019. He is responsible for setting the investment strategy across the fund range as well as overseeing the development of new products. He has over 20 years research and investment strategy experience in the UK and Continental Europe. Prior to this, he was Global Head of Research at Patrizia AG and a partner at Rockspring PIM prior to its acquisition by Patrizia. He has also worked at Goldman Sachs in the Property Derivatives team and at AEW, where he was Head of its London research operation. Jose began his career in 2000 as a general economist at Deutsche Bank and moved into the real estate division in 2002. José holds a Masters of Real Estate Investment from Cass Business School, a Masters in Quantitative Economics from Université Catholique de Louvain and a Bachelors degree from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid.

The CRE Podcast is powered by First National.

In partnership with Canadian Real Estate Forums.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

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 of recording this episode, and later reveals why she was hesitant to be a part of it at first. We’ll also get her insight on interest rates and what she thinks we’re in for during the rest of the year.

Topics covered include:

• A surprising area that Alberta is a world leader in.
• Preparation over the past few months to get ready to lead the forum.
• How Melanie fell in love with the finance side of real estate.
• Tips from Melanie on taking advantage of opportunities.
• Camgill’s diversification into Ireland.
• Industrial rental rates in Alberta currently.
• Continuing to move forward despite inflation and supply chain issues.
• What Melanie predicts regarding interest rates for the rest of the year.
• Are the interest rate increases already priced in?
• The spread between interest rates and cap rates that Camgill is comfortable with.
• Some differences between investing in Canada versus Ireland.
• The Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) network.
• Why Melanie decided to be part of the forum.
• Melanie’s takeaway thus far at the conference.

More about our guest….

Melanie Ducholke is the Chief Financial Officer for Camgill Development Corporation. Camgill is a privately owned, full service, global commercial real estate group based in Edmonton, Alberta that manages commercial real estate and alternative investment funds throughout Canada and Ireland. Navigating the most complex and elaborate real estate arrangements for Camgill for almost 20 years, Melanie leads and oversees capital stack initiatives, corporate deal structure, tax, strategic planning & execution, treasury, and cashflow management. As CFO of the company, she excels at collaborating with all stakeholders to come up with innovative ways to help create successful developments, while maximizing yields and minimizing risk. Melanie currently sits on the University of Alberta Advisory Board in Real Estate, Alberta School of Business – Fundraising Committee for the Centre for Cities and Communities, and is a Past President for Edmonton CREW, part of a global organization that exists to transform the commercial real estate industry by advancing women globally.

Melanie holds an Honours BComm from Laurentian University and is currently pursuing her ICD.D. 

Melanie is supported, grounded, humbled and continually inspired by her 5 amazing children and husband.

The CRE Podcast is powered by First National.

In partnership with Canadian Real Estate Forums.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More