It’s about trust
One of the things that stands out time and again about the generation that emerged from the Second World War is the gratitude for opportunities received and the desire to share something of the same with others.
Speaking to the commercial real estate association NAIOP in November 2009, Kingswood Capital Corp. president Joe Segal described the art of the deal and relationships. Dealmakers, he said, should be generous, leaving something on the table for the other party so that everyone wins.
And so it was earlier this month, when Keith Beedie looked back on 67 years of construction to the 1,200-square-foot shop building that got it all started.
Beedie and a friend, Fred Banbury – then 19 years old – were given the chance to build the building and did a great job – until they needed 20-foot lumber for roof joists. But demand for lumber was high as the post-war boom kicked into gear and chances of securing material seemed dim. The boys spotted a pile of lumber of just the right dimensions, however.
“You can guess – that weekend our roof went up,” Beedie said.
Of course, the owner of the lumber came ’round and remarked on how quickly the building was finished.
He also pointed out his mark on the beams.
Beedie thought for a moment his career was over, then was forgiven with the good-natured: “Oh, if you kids would’ve asked!”
The lumber was eventually paid for, but the kindness stuck with him – as did the willingness of Hammond Furniture owner Wally Hammond to let them buy woodworking equipment on his account.
“We were so young; people wanted to give us a hand,” he told a rapt audience. “In those days, it was much different than it is today.”
Beedie has shown the same trust in the people that worked for him at Beedie Group, where he’s still chairman and CEO.
“I’ve had two or three bad experiences, but hundreds and hundreds of good experiences,” he said.
While that’s something one might wish to be remembered for, Beedie isn’t second-guessing his legacy.
Asked by son Ryan Beedie “How do you want to be remembered, years from now?” the elder Beedie didn’t pull punches.
“I don’t give a darn; I’m dead!”
Making space
With assessment notices set to hit mailboxes in the first week of January, setting the tone for the kind of rent increases property owners can expect, spare a thought for the city’s charities.
Many pay property taxes through their rents, and those rents have – according to a report for the 108-year-old Central City Foundation – been increasing, putting pressure on local non-profits.
Jennifer Johnstone, the foundation’s president and CEO, said more than 80% of the independent, neighbourhood community organizations in downtown Vancouver rent premises.
And all of them are feeling the pinch of higher property values, and in turn, higher rents.
“[They] are feeling squeezed in the sense of great insecurity in their tenure in many parts of our city where non-profits have traditionally found space to deliver their programs and services,” Johnstone said.
Central City itself sold its original premises at 233 Abbott Street in 1989 in the face of changes in the surrounding community. It relocated, reinventing itself in the process as a social real estate enterprise.
Proceeds from the sale of the Abbott Street building funded construction of Central City Lodge at Pender and Homer streets, part of a portfolio that includes five properties in Vancouver, New Westminster and Keremeos.
“We’ve been reinvesting our capital in the community to create spaces that address the needs of our neighbours in the inner city,” Johnstone said, adding that the new report “underlines the need for us to continue our investment in social purpose real estate.”
The portfolio has an aggregate value of $14.4 million, according to the society’s 2013 financial statements; rental income for the year totalled just short of $552,000.
Two residences in downtown Vancouver provide rooms at shelter rates; community organizations can access space at below market rents at locations in Vancouver and New Westminster.
“We’ve been able to do that and still be financially sustainable,” Johnstone said.
In addition, the foundation provided grants to 10 organizations in 2013 in support of their real estate needs.
