A commercial real estate project that made sense a decade ago may not survive today’s approval process.
Developers are now expected to consider everything from decarbonization and wastewater management to affordability, accessibility and community impact — all while keeping projects financially viable in an increasingly complex market.
Those changing realities became especially clear during a recent appraisal of John Molson Executive Centre’s Commercial Real Estate Certificate program, which will relaunch in Winter 2027 with a redesigned curriculum built around the evolving demands of the industry.
Michel Deslauriers, real estate program director
The program was designed for real estate professionals in investment, finance, development, urban planning and related sectors who need to know how different parts of a deal connect.
“Participants often come in with deep expertise in one area,” says program director Michel Deslauriers. “But they realize they don’t have all the pieces of the puzzle.”
The program’s instructional designer Sarah Lusthaus says JMEC conducts a regular appraisal process for its offerings to identify the most pressing career needs for learners, then build the program around those needs.
Sarah Lusthaus, Instructional Designer
“Traditionally, people need to learn the content, and programs are built around existing content. We take the opposite approach.”
The review drew on five years of participant evaluations, consultations with industry partner Institut de développement urbain du Québec, and feedback from program instructors actively working in the field.
One theme emerged consistently during that process: commercial real estate professionals need to know how all parts of a deal connect to conduct their work effectively. It also revealed that real estate transactions have become more interconnected and risk-sensitive. Professionals who once operated within a specialization are now expected to navigate financing, sustainability requirements, municipal approvals and community considerations.
Program instructors supported the process by reviewing their course material to identify what remained essential and what required updating.
One of the clearest findings from the appraisal was the growing importance of environmental, social, and governance considerations in commercial real estate — from both a social responsibility and profitability perspective.
Strengthening the program’s ESG component not only responds to what learners and industry partners were asking for, Lusthaus points out, but also aligns with Concordia University’s leadership in the field.
To strengthen the program’s ESG focus, JMEC brought in Montreal real estate developer and urban development specialist Nathalie Voland, PhD.
In addition to leading a new course dedicated specifically to ESG in commercial real estate, Voland worked with instructors on integrating sustainability considerations into their respective course topics, including due diligence, urban planning, and investment.
“Sustainability starts right at the development level,” says Deslauriers. “It’s not just about energy-efficient windows. It’s about how buildings operate, what happens with wastewater, garbage, decarbonization, climate resilience — all of those things.”
Though ESG is often viewed as an environmental concern, Deslauriers points out that the ESG framework extends to affordability, universal access, and social housing integration. And while the industry increasingly recognizes its responsibilities, he says, the bottom line matters.
“The reality is that if projects aren’t profitable, nothing gets built.”
Understanding how ESG considerations affect different stakeholders across the life cycle of a commercial real estate project puts participants in a stronger position to evaluate costs, timelines, approvals, and overall viability before committing significant time or resources.
“It’s not about becoming an ESG expert,” Deslauriers says. “It’s about developing enough knowledge to recognize potential issues and understand when to consult someone with deeper expertise.”
The new format also streamlines the program’s structure.
Courses that previously ran over two days have been reduced to single-day sessions held every three weeks. Additionally, a certification project that participants previously completed independently — sometimes over several months — has been redesigned as a guided, in-person case study exercise.
“The goal was to create a program that reflects how commercial real estate projects actually move from idea to reality,” Lusthaus says. “Our instructors know what’s happening in the other courses and there’s a more unified goal across the program, which will benefit learners.”
At its core, Deslauriers says the program’s value comes from the fact that it is taught by active industry professionals bringing real projects and real transactions into the classroom.
“These aren’t academics talking theoretically,” he says.“If participants leave the program understanding what they don’t know and when they need to bring in expertise, that’s half the battle.”
