company’s rental apartment, and retail portfolio. In the years since, Dak has developed over 1000 rental units and 200,000 square feet of commercial space. Balmoral, meanwhile, is still in operation and continues to invest in shopping centres with the Molnar Group and other partners. In recent years, as previously mentioned, Molnar Group has focused primarily on delivering purpose-built rental housing in BC – though they also maintain a portfolio of commercial properties in Washington State and Western Canada, including the prestigious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, as well as a portfolio of properties in Montreal. They have made rental housing their focus, however, due to the province’s housing crisis and the government’s inability to respond to it: “Rental housing is something that’s in short supply and high demand,” Dak explains. “If you can find real estate that makes sense, that you can underwrite to get a building built, the buildings lease up very quickly. It’s shown itself to be a great place to put money. You can keep the asset after you’ve completed it and put it in a portfolio for your personal cash flow, or you can tie a big red ribbon around it and sell it to a Canadian or international pension fund who will buy it like it’s a bond.” “It’s very safe investment because rarely, if ever, do you get an apartment building that vacates entirely,” he continues. “A lot of other commercial assets and single tenant assets have that vacancy risk, but a fully tenanted apartment building in a strong urban market in North America is one of the safest real estate bets. So pension AUGUST 2023
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