'Go west young man, buy land, they're not making any more of it', said Will Rogers . . let me tell you about a couple of contrarian Calgarians, as different from each other as night is from day, both making lots of hay. I admire people who live life flat out; I don't mean high-speed racing in the fast lane with hair afire, but people who don't let inconveniences or people who say something can't be done take them off their path, who don't hide their humanity or their tragic flaws, who live life large however small their stage, people who grip life like it was a sturdy handshake.
Two years ago WAM Development Group snatched Tim Hogan from a competitor. Since then, their strong Calgary presence has grown by heaps and leaps thanks to his leadership. The latest foray is the launch of the 150 acre Stoney Industrial Centre. The first phase alone will sport 1.1 million sq. ft. of warehouse/flex space west of the Deerfoot Trail; then comes developing the master planned 1,200 acres. Stay tuned for lots more north-centric thinking as Calgary developers struggle to find viable projects as land values of $900K/acre, once unimaginable, are now an everyday reality
I've met Mogens Smed before, but never long enough to see him stand still. I spent time recently with this frenetic enigma - part interview, part brainstorm, part factory tour, part glimpse into his driven psyche. After selling SMED to Haworth Inc. for many buckets of cash, Smed could have easily gone fishin' for the rest of his life. Instead, this man, who was walking the "green" talk way back when it was just blue + yellow to everyone else, started DIRTT Environmental Solutions. A tour of the 80,000 sq. ft. factory demonstrates why Calgary know-how can grow from a standing start to $50 million/year in just two years. DIRTT (doing it right this time) has quickly become North America's largest supplier of moveable wall systems, employing 250, plus 45 more at his software firm ICE Edge Business Solutions built with help from Calgary's software prince James Gosling. DIRTT represents a fast delivery affordable solution to office interiors that won't find its way to a landfill site every time a user renovates. Smed is now talking about affordable housing. Looks like the fish will have to wait.
Two contrarian Calgarians have been making a lot of hay the last two years: one with land, the other saving room at landfills. Look for land prices to continue upward in pricing as obstacles (largest being City Council and the City planning department) to development get worse before they get better.
Look for continued growth in green-focused initiatives with real measurable results; these are not the same as so many 'cloaked in green rhetoric' that is trendy to talk about but often very costly to do in terms of capital cost. Sometimes, it's just a matter of thinking of things differently from pre-conceptual drawing stage. It is more about why we do things than how we do them that leads to the best payoff.
Mark Kolke - author, columnist, reader, writer, editor, facilitator, coach, public speaker - writes wherever he is working or playing - he lives in Calgary, plays in Maui, works in Houston, plays in Maui, works in Los Angeles, plays in Maui . . you get the picture. Work, life and play are migrating slowly, inexorably, in the direction of Maui. Whether a crisp journalistic piece or a door-stop weight proposal, he writes as he speaks - clearly, effectively and passionately in the following areas: oil & gas, commercial real estate, hotels/tourism, residential real estate, education, social services, persons with disabilities, retail, golf, government, politics, relationships.
Mark Kolke is a freelance writer and commercial real estate consultant in Calgary. He can be contacted at: MaxComm Communications
