Dear Colleagues,
What a lovely gala event it was as we celebrated exemplary performance in the real estate sector!
It was a pleasure to act as honorary president for this 16th edition of the gala.
I accepted the distinction of being honorary president because I believe it is essential to pay tribute to our teams and their firms, for those individuals and those organizations make the commercial real estate sector a flagship of the economy.
This competition spotlights and promotes our expertise all over the world. The gala is an event not to be missed for a new generation of building owners and managers, people who will be designing and building our cities of tomorrow.
GWL Realty Advisors was founded over 25 years ago, and now manages more than $17.5 billion of property assets – $5 billion in the U.S. and $12.5 billion in Canada.
I am lucky to be part of an organization that, like many others, helps big cities realize their full potential and capitalize on all that they have to offer.
Few people are aware of the extent of our investments in this country, where we have 11 regional offices. Major projects are currently being studied, and in the years to come we will also extend our reach into South America and increase our presence in Europe.
GWL is renowned for its expertise in the markets it invests in, and wherever we work, our strategy is based on the potential of major urban centres such as Montreal and Quebec City.
Over the past two and a half years, we have invested more than $700 million in Quebec, and will be investing even more. In 2019 – 2020 we will move ahead with several major projects, including rental property projects in Montreal.
Protecting the environment is an important focus at GWL, and I would like to mention here that 100% of our buildings are certified BOMA BEST®, and that we have the 3rd highest ranking in the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB). We are also participating in the BOMA Quebec Building Energy Challenge.
The event was also an opportunity for me to personally thank all the property managers in our GWL team, many of whom attended the gala. All of them make important contributions to our success as a trusted real estate advisor with a reputation for excellence across North America, and elsewhere in the world.
A number of impressive accomplishments were honoured at the gala last night. Let their success serve as an inspiration that will lead us to even greater heights.
My heartfelt congratulations to the winners.
Pascale Roy
Vice-President, Asset Management for Eastern Canada
GWL Realty Advisors
