I have been through two major downturns in my real estate career. The first was the 2007-2008 financial crisis. And the second is what's happening right now. Right before the first one, I was working for a small real estate developer/consultancy in Dublin and, let me tell you, it was an exuberant time. Ireland was at what ended up being the tale end of its "Celtic Tiger" and everything was possible.

One of the projects I was working on was the proposed U2 Tower at the mouth of the River Liffey in the Docklands area. We were running the international design competition to select an architect and everyone from Foster and Partners to Zaha Hadid was participating. It was going to be the tallest tower on the island of Ireland and in the penthouse was going to be a recording studio for the rock band U2.

But then, the great financial crisis happened and the tower got cancelled. By then, I had returned from the US (where I was finishing grad school) to work in Toronto. The writing was starting to be on the wall, but I managed to get a summer internship for a developer. By fall, shit had hit the fan and they reneged on my full-time offer, citing that the market was just too bad.

In reality, though, things were much worse in the US. I vividly remember developers claiming that it would take decades for development to return to feasibility. That's how bad things felt. In hindsight, this was pivotal timing for me for two reasons. One, it taught me early on in my career just how bad things can get in real estate, and I try to always remember that. And two, it forced me out of the US after graduation.

I had initially planned to stay and work there for a few years, but there were simply no real estate jobs and, if there was one, they weren't going to hire a Canadian with a background in architecture. Who knows where I would have ended up had I stayed. Despite it being my plan, it's possible I may have never returned to Toronto.

During this period, I remember thinking to myself that development is super risky, it shuts off periodically, and so it's a good idea to also own long-term assets with long-term leases, like office buildings. And after returning to Toronto, I ultimately went to work for a company that did both development and that owned office buildings, among other commercial assets.

This seemed like a reasonable approach up until 2020, which is of course when office buildings were negatively impacted by the pandemic. But I don't know how anyone could have predicted this. It was truly a black swan event that had far reaching implications on real estate beyond just office assets.

But here's the thing: I feel lucky with the timing I've had. These are the best times to be starting something. During the first cycle, I was just starting my real estate career and it taught me things. And now, during this current downturn, I'm focused on growing Globizen. It's hard to imagine a better time to find opportunities that the rest of the market may be overlooking or simply can't execute on.

ICON, the 3D-printing home company that I wrote about a few months ago, has just launched a new global architecture competition called Initiative 99. As the name starts to suggest, the goal is to generate new ideas for "accessible, beautiful, and dignified 3D-printed homes that can be built for under US$99,000."

The competition is open to all: architects, designers, builders, students, and/or people who are just interested in finding new ways to deliver affordable housing. However, the current website does ask for a zip code. So maybe you need to live in the US.

In any event, if you're selected, you might get money and you might get to see your design built. The total prize fund for the competition is US$1 million and ICON has also committed to building a selection of the winning designs. Registration begins May 23, 2023, but if you'd like to enter your zip code now and "stay informed," you can do that here.

This past summer, the Bentway (in collaboration with the City of Toronto, the Waterfront BIA, and the Toronto Downtown West BIA) issued a call for expressions of interest to re-imagine two key intersections under downtown Toronto's elevated Gardiner Expressway. The York Street intersection and the Simcoe Street intersection.

That process has run its course and the following six teams have now been shortlisted:

York Street

• Sans Façon + Zeidler (Calgary/Toronto)

• LeuWebb Projects + DIALOG + Mulvey & Banani Lighting (Toronto)

• 5468796 Architecture Inc. (Winnipeg)

Simcoe Street

• O2 Planning & Design Inc. + Mulvey & Banani Lighting + ENTUITIVE (Calgary/Toronto)

• Daily Tous Les Jours + SvN Architects + Planners + Latéral (Montreal/Toronto)

• SOCA + Tiffany Shaw-Collinge + SHEEEP (Toronto/Edmonton)

The next step in this process is a nine-week design exercise where the above teams will go away and prepare their design concepts. We work with a number of the companies on this shortlist and I am sure that there will be some fantastic ideas that are put forward. After selecting the two winners, the plan is to then start construction in 2022.

The Bentway is doing some fantastic work in reimagining the underside of our downtown highway. This is yet another example of that. For more information about the competition, click here.

Photo by Brian Jones on Unsplash

I have been through two major downturns in my real estate career. The first was the 2007-2008 financial crisis. And the second is what's happening right now. Right before the first one, I was working for a small real estate developer/consultancy in Dublin and, let me tell you, it was an exuberant time. Ireland was at what ended up being the tale end of its "Celtic Tiger" and everything was possible.

One of the projects I was working on was the proposed U2 Tower at the mouth of the River Liffey in the Docklands area. We were running the international design competition to select an architect and everyone from Foster and Partners to Zaha Hadid was participating. It was going to be the tallest tower on the island of Ireland and in the penthouse was going to be a recording studio for the rock band U2.

But then, the great financial crisis happened and the tower got cancelled. By then, I had returned from the US (where I was finishing grad school) to work in Toronto. The writing was starting to be on the wall, but I managed to get a summer internship for a developer. By fall, shit had hit the fan and they reneged on my full-time offer, citing that the market was just too bad.

In reality, though, things were much worse in the US. I vividly remember developers claiming that it would take decades for development to return to feasibility. That's how bad things felt. In hindsight, this was pivotal timing for me for two reasons. One, it taught me early on in my career just how bad things can get in real estate, and I try to always remember that. And two, it forced me out of the US after graduation.

I had initially planned to stay and work there for a few years, but there were simply no real estate jobs and, if there was one, they weren't going to hire a Canadian with a background in architecture. Who knows where I would have ended up had I stayed. Despite it being my plan, it's possible I may have never returned to Toronto.

During this period, I remember thinking to myself that development is super risky, it shuts off periodically, and so it's a good idea to also own long-term assets with long-term leases, like office buildings. And after returning to Toronto, I ultimately went to work for a company that did both development and that owned office buildings, among other commercial assets.

This seemed like a reasonable approach up until 2020, which is of course when office buildings were negatively impacted by the pandemic. But I don't know how anyone could have predicted this. It was truly a black swan event that had far reaching implications on real estate beyond just office assets.

But here's the thing: I feel lucky with the timing I've had. These are the best times to be starting something. During the first cycle, I was just starting my real estate career and it taught me things. And now, during this current downturn, I'm focused on growing Globizen. It's hard to imagine a better time to find opportunities that the rest of the market may be overlooking or simply can't execute on.

ICON, the 3D-printing home company that I wrote about a few months ago, has just launched a new global architecture competition called Initiative 99. As the name starts to suggest, the goal is to generate new ideas for "accessible, beautiful, and dignified 3D-printed homes that can be built for under US$99,000."

The competition is open to all: architects, designers, builders, students, and/or people who are just interested in finding new ways to deliver affordable housing. However, the current website does ask for a zip code. So maybe you need to live in the US.

In any event, if you're selected, you might get money and you might get to see your design built. The total prize fund for the competition is US$1 million and ICON has also committed to building a selection of the winning designs. Registration begins May 23, 2023, but if you'd like to enter your zip code now and "stay informed," you can do that here.

This past summer, the Bentway (in collaboration with the City of Toronto, the Waterfront BIA, and the Toronto Downtown West BIA) issued a call for expressions of interest to re-imagine two key intersections under downtown Toronto's elevated Gardiner Expressway. The York Street intersection and the Simcoe Street intersection.

That process has run its course and the following six teams have now been shortlisted:

York Street

• Sans Façon + Zeidler (Calgary/Toronto)

• LeuWebb Projects + DIALOG + Mulvey & Banani Lighting (Toronto)

• 5468796 Architecture Inc. (Winnipeg)

Simcoe Street

• O2 Planning & Design Inc. + Mulvey & Banani Lighting + ENTUITIVE (Calgary/Toronto)

• Daily Tous Les Jours + SvN Architects + Planners + Latéral (Montreal/Toronto)

• SOCA + Tiffany Shaw-Collinge + SHEEEP (Toronto/Edmonton)

The next step in this process is a nine-week design exercise where the above teams will go away and prepare their design concepts. We work with a number of the companies on this shortlist and I am sure that there will be some fantastic ideas that are put forward. After selecting the two winners, the plan is to then start construction in 2022.

The Bentway is doing some fantastic work in reimagining the underside of our downtown highway. This is yet another example of that. For more information about the competition, click here.

Photo by Brian Jones on Unsplash