Brandon DonnellyCanada must become a global superpower
The silver lining to the US starting a trade war with Canada and regularly threatening annexation is that it has forced this country out of complacency. Indeed, I'm hard pressed to remember a time, at least in my lifetime, when patriotism and nationalism has united so much of Canada. According to a recent survey by Angus Reid, the percentage of Canadians expressing a "deep emotional attachment" to the country jumped from 49% in December 2024 to 59% in February 2025. And as further evidence of...
Brandon DonnellyThe bank robbery capital of the world
Between 1985 and 1995, Los Angeles' retail bank branches were robbed some 17,106 times. In 1992, which was the the city's worst year for robberies, the number was 2,641. This roughly translated into about one bank robbery every 45 minutes of each banking day. All of this, according to this CrimeReads piece by Peter Houlahan, gave Los Angeles the dubious title of "The Bank Robbery Capital of the World" during this time period. So what caused this? Well according to Peter it was facil...
Brandon DonnellyThe story behind those pixelated video game mosaics in Paris
If you've ever been to Paris, you've probably noticed the small pixelated art pieces that are scattered all around the city on buildings and various other hard surfaces. Or maybe you haven't seen or noticed them in Paris, but you've seen similarly pixelated mosaics in one of the other 79 cities around the world where they can be found. Or maybe you have no idea what I'm talking about right now. Huh? Here's an example from Bolivia (click here if you can't see...
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Brandon DonnellyDevelopment happens on the margin
Every single real estate development project I have worked on has generally gone something like this:
Design the project.
Budget the project.
Realize: "Oh shit, this is way too expensive and will never work."
Cut out some of the parking (a loss leader on most projects).
Look for value engineering and other creative opportunities.
Repeat the cycle until the project works (hopefully).
This is so typical that if I went through this process and everything just magically worked, I would be immediately suspicious. This can't be. We must be overlooking something! The expectation is that the project isn't going to work until we, as developers, figure out a way to make it work.
This is what we mean around here when we say that "development happens on the margin." Projects are sensitive to even slight changes in market conditions. If rents soften, costs go up, and/or interest rates move in the wrong direction, that could be the end.
Current market conditions have only heightened this dynamic. More than ever, developers need to be both creative problem-solvers and disciplined managers because there's very little elasticity on the revenue side to help cover up any mistakes (if the revenue side even exists at all!).
Development is hard. But working through challenges is a big part of what makes it so rewarding. On that happy note, enjoy the long weekend, everyone.
Cover photo by Shivendu Shukla on Unsplash
Subscribe to Brandon Donnelly
Daily insights for city builders. Published since 2013 by Toronto-based real estate developer Brandon Donnelly.
Every single real estate development project I have worked on has generally gone something like this:
Design the project.
Budget the project.
Realize: "Oh shit, this is way too expensive and will never work."
Cut out some of the parking (a loss leader on most projects).
Look for value engineering and other creative opportunities.
Repeat the cycle until the project works (hopefully).
This is so typical that if I went through this process and everything just magically worked, I would be immediately suspicious. This can't be. We must be overlooking something! The expectation is that the project isn't going to work until we, as developers, figure out a way to make it work.
This is what we mean around here when we say that "development happens on the margin." Projects are sensitive to even slight changes in market conditions. If rents soften, costs go up, and/or interest rates move in the wrong direction, that could be the end.
Current market conditions have only heightened this dynamic. More than ever, developers need to be both creative problem-solvers and disciplined managers because there's very little elasticity on the revenue side to help cover up any mistakes (if the revenue side even exists at all!).
Development is hard. But working through challenges is a big part of what makes it so rewarding. On that happy note, enjoy the long weekend, everyone.
Cover photo by Shivendu Shukla on Unsplash
Support Brandon Donnelly
Brandon DonnellyDevelopment happens on the margin
Subscribe to Brandon Donnelly
Daily insights for city builders. Published since 2013 by Toronto-based real estate developer Brandon Donnelly.
Brandon DonnellyCanada must become a global superpower
The silver lining to the US starting a trade war with Canada and regularly threatening annexation is that it has forced this country out of complacency. Indeed, I'm hard pressed to remember a time, at least in my lifetime, when patriotism and nationalism has united so much of Canada. According to a recent survey by Angus Reid, the percentage of Canadians expressing a "deep emotional attachment" to the country jumped from 49% in December 2024 to 59% in February 2025. And as further evidence of...
Brandon DonnellyThe bank robbery capital of the world
Between 1985 and 1995, Los Angeles' retail bank branches were robbed some 17,106 times. In 1992, which was the the city's worst year for robberies, the number was 2,641. This roughly translated into about one bank robbery every 45 minutes of each banking day. All of this, according to this CrimeReads piece by Peter Houlahan, gave Los Angeles the dubious title of "The Bank Robbery Capital of the World" during this time period. So what caused this? Well according to Peter it was facil...
Brandon DonnellyThe story behind those pixelated video game mosaics in Paris
If you've ever been to Paris, you've probably noticed the small pixelated art pieces that are scattered all around the city on buildings and various other hard surfaces. Or maybe you haven't seen or noticed them in Paris, but you've seen similarly pixelated mosaics in one of the other 79 cities around the world where they can be found. Or maybe you have no idea what I'm talking about right now. Huh? Here's an example from Bolivia (click here if you can't see...
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