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 oriented residential living options within Canada. Their newest initiative will bring a community within a community to cities around Canada such as Toronto, Calgary, Alberta, Vancouver and more. The focus is to make urbanization and downsizing easier and more beneficial to consumers, retailers and communities.
Topics covered include:
- Maximizing land usage on existing RioCan sites.
- The Well: the massive mixed-use development in downtown Toronto.
- The symbiotic relationship between their residential and retail assets.
- Creating transit-oriented properties.
- The benefits in creating a self sufficient community within a downtown community.
- Technology-forward buildings.
- Growth of the projects surrounding the LRT.
- RioCan’s long term growth plans in the residential sector.
A bit about our guest….
Jonathan Gitlin has been with RioCan since 2005. He is the Chief Operating Officer. In his role, Jonathan oversees RioCan’s acquisitions, dispositions and joint venture activities across Canada. Jonathan also oversees RioCan’s residential intensification initiative.
For six years prior to joining RioCan, Jonathan practiced real estate law at the Toronto offices of McCarthy, Tetrault LLP. RioCan is Canada’s largest real estate investment trust with a total capitalization of approximately $13.9 billion as at September 2017. RioCan owns and manages Canada’s largest portfolio of shopping centres with ownership interests in a portfolio of 300 Canadian retail and mixed use properties, including 16 properties under development and an aggregate net leasable area of 45 million square feet.
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