Today’s economic climate is placing the Canadian real estate market on a wild roller-coaster ride.

Many developers are looking at the inherent stability of rental apartments, and really, they’re only needing a small portion of knowledge to bolt onto their existing commercial real estate development expertise. I’d like to help them bridge that gap . . .

I’ve always been fascinated by the first-time apartment developer – someone who decides to risk everything in order to develop a piece of land and fulfill a vision.

Having walked that path, and dedicating my life to creating a programmatic approach to apartment development, I wanted to produce a foolproof resource for those courageous people who are taking their first steps into the field.

As I see it, apartment developers are desperately needed to address some of the most pressing issues of our time.

In the midst of an unprecedented housing crisis, new developers are necessary to address the lack of affordable housing and rising levels of homelessness. Supply is the key to a healthy and sustainable rental market.

The government isn’t going to be able to wave a magic wand and solve these issues.

It’s up to private developers to take the wheel – and I wanted to write a book that would make the journey easier for both first-time and experienced developers.

This book is a perfect reference for the first-time developer, those pivoting from another asset class (such as hotels, retail, condos . . . ), and even seasoned, veteran developers looking to train or onboard new staff.

Doing my part to spread the word . . .

The Intentional Apartment Developer is a step-by-step guide to this process. A culmination of my 30-plus years of experience in the field.

The insights I’ve gathered from lasting relationships, collaborations and serving my clients have been distilled into 300 pages.

Beginning with an apartment’s conception to either its final sale or long-term ownership, I’ve laid out a business model that serves the entire project timeline.

It is separated into clear and distinct stages that are easy to understand and backed by case study examples of some of the largest deals in Canadian history, all using the principles and practices covered in the book.

Divided into five sections: What to Build, Land, Financing the Building, Filling Up the Building, and Selling the Apartment, the book provides a concise pathway for developers to successfully complete their project – literally from the ground up.

Essentially, these sections were born from the Apartment Development Full Service Experience project flow that we have developed at SVN Rock Advisors Inc.

It is a beginning-to-end process – from the inception of the new apartment construction project all the way to the end – which could be the setup of ongoing asset management or the sale of the asset.

Every writer wants to sell a million copies, but this book isn’t for the general public.

It is catered specifically to those few courageous individuals willing to put their time, energy and money on the line in order to help solve one of the most pressing issues of our time.

It is my hope that the end result for the reader is to become an intentional apartment developer – one who leverages the available knowledge and expertise and continues to grow their vision for a bright future!

I have many people to thank for making this book a reality.

The insights and support I’ve received along my journey through building relationships with clients, collaborators and my Rock Advisors team has proven to be truly invaluable.

Canada, it’s time to build more rental apartments!