worked really hard to keep it on budget. Everyone fought really hard to deliver it on time and on budget.” That project is 100 per cent sold and tenants recently started to move in. By the end of the year, it is expected to be fully delivered. According to Michael, the success of both those projects – and the success of all Bertone projects, really – ultimately comesdowntotherelationships they have built, with both their team and with their customers. “We’ve built our company form the ground up, and what allowed us to grow is that we were responsive to the needs of our tenants,” Michael explains. “The fact that we were responsive got people’s attention. We continue that to this day. “Our tenants are the lifeblood of our business. We couldn’t survive if we didn’t have happy tenants who continue to work with us. At the end of the day, a tenant has a choice between slews of developers they can go to. They are going to go to a developer they can trust.” When it comes to retail clients in particular, Michael adds, they are looking for developers they trust to deliver their spaces on time. “I think we’ve built a reputation in this business as one of the select developers that grocery anchors know will deliver a space on time,” he says, “because we know how important it is to them to have that space on time. We know that if we don’t deliver on time it messes up all their planning. I think the developers who understand that are the ones that get the business.” “The tenant has to be taken care of,” he adds. “That’s the culture OCTOBER 2022
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