The latest episode of the Livabl Launch podcast features an exclusive interview with Brandon Donnelly, Managing Director (Development) of Slate Asset Management.
Donnelly is responsible for leading the firm’s development efforts, including acquisitions, entitlements, marketing and more. With over 15 years of experience in real estate, Brandon has established a reputation for creativity and attention to detail in the development process.
Here are some highlights from the episode.
On being a community builder:
“We target urban infill transit, adjacent sites, we like walkable communities with amenities. That is our program, all of our development projects are situated in environments like that. And the other thing that we focus on is how can we have positive impact on the broader community? How can we be city builders, I know that’s a buzzword that a lot of people throw around. But we really take that seriously and think about what we can do for the broader community as well, too.”
On the differences between Toronto and Hamilton’s pre-construction market:
“People are buying pre-construction and these projects are going to be completed in 2028. And people’s lives change, so we’ll see. What I would say is that there is a bit of a waiting towards the GTA outside of Hamilton in terms of the buyers. And part of that is I think that Hamilton buyers are still getting their head around pre-construction and buying earlier. So, I think you see a lot of buyers that are in the immediate GTA that are more comfortable buying pre-construction. The local market is still getting accustomed to buying pre construction and we’re seeing investors from other parts of the GTA that are that are buying right now in Hamilton.”
On a unique offering at One Belisle:
“We commissioned NFT art for each of the individual penthouses [at One Delisle] that correspond one to one with those penthouses. So, when you buy a penthouse, you get a piece of NFT art with it. As far as we know this is the first time anyone’s done this in Toronto or in Canada, so we’re really proud of that.”
On running a blog for the last 10 years:
“And I think there’s something powerful about, well, first of all, you don’t make any money. I don’t directly benefit from this blog. That’s not the point. I think it’s indirect benefit. I think the benefits are personal. I think there’s huge benefits to just writing every single day. It’s one thing to think about something, it’s another thing to write about it. You have to understand and think about something at a deeper level to be able to write about it.”
To learn more about Livabl Launch with Matthew Slutsky, visit the full podcast webpage.
