those buildings. We try to find interesting buildings, buildings that have a story to them, in neighborhoods and areas that had some really strong fundamentals. We look diamonds in the rough,’ so to speak, and we’ve tried to turn them into special places for people to live, shop, entertain and socialize.” “That’s why Ivan started Beljan,” Chris continues. “He felt that Edmonton was a city that lacked development of that type. He wanted to do projects that would have a meaningful impact on the community. And he didn’t think it was necessary to build large 30-plus storey buildings to have that impact.” Chris agreed with Ivan’s vision, and that’s what drew him to Beljan Developments in those early days. He stuck around because the company started living up to their ideals almost immediately – they started delivering modestly-scaled but highly-impactful projects, and they quickly built a reputation in the city. Dave Hennessey, Asset Management, is a more recent addition to the Beljan team. He used to work for one of Canada’s largest publicly-traded REITs, and he recalls witnessing the rise of the company as an outsider: “Living in Edmonton, I started to notice the quality of development that the Beljan team was doing,” Dave recalls. “They were going deep into urban communities, finding underutilized buildings, and repositioning them. They were working with some of the coolest and most unique restaurants, coffee shops, and retailers. They were working in spaces that were one-tenth the size of what the big REITs were working with, and I would argue that they were making more of a cultural impact.” “I was a fan first,” he adds. “I watched as Beljan went from one to three to five projects. Each step of the way, I was always really impressed with the creativity and innovation they brought to the table. When NOVEMBER 2021
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