When a derelict train yard was repurposed as part of Université de Montréal’s campus expansion in the 2010s, real-estate developer Michael Owen saw it as a golden opportunity.
“Here was a chance to build apartments in front of a university on raw land in Outremont, a nice neighbourhood,” says Owen, who serves as co-president at his family-run firm Mondev.
“We saw the future and just outbid everybody else. People thought we were crazy. I don’t think anybody understood the potential.”
One of Montreal’s most prominent builders over the last decade, Mondev made news in 2020 when it enacted a rent freeze to help more than 1,500 tenants cope with the hardships of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As for the Université de Montréal-adjacent project, Owen says that with 700 units close to completion on the doorstep of a brand new, state-of-the-art campus, the skepticism has faded.
Role of Mondev
“We do everything. We find a piece of property we think has development potential, buy that piece of land or building and then demolish, redevelop or rezone to create our vision of what we think belongs there. Then we rent the building and manage the daily operations.”
The Concordia factor
“One thing I liked about Concordia was how it facilitated connections to the real world. The Co-op program provided me with work terms where I was able to put theory into practice. I graduated with experience at leading companies like L’Oréal and Silanis Technology, one of the pioneers of digital signatures.”
Inspiring professor
“Department of Marketing professor Harold Simpkins, who also owned a business, had all kinds of real-life advertising experience. We became good friends and even ended up working together in a small company at one point.”
Words of wisdom
“Do whatever you can to buy your first property, even if it’s small. Just get into the market. Even if the market goes down, it won’t really matter because over time, real estate acts as a hedge and will always be one of the greatest generators of wealth.”