The most exciting kickoff at last night’s Ottawa RedBlacks game may have actually taken place off the field with the launch of CityBuildHERS.
It’s a new quarterly networking event, with a professional development component, led by Jennifer Cross, business development manager at Marant Construction, and Lauren Epp, manager of corporate partnerships and premium properties at OSEG (Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group), to celebrate and connect women in the commercial construction, design and real estate industries. The gathering served as a valuable opportunity to learn about the first all-women-led project in Canada.
Also part of CityBuildHERS are committee members Lynn Ferron, principal interior designer at HOK Ottawa; broker Sarah Vandenbelt from Koble Commercial Real Estate & Brokerage; and Kristen Buter, vice-president of property management for Mastercraft Starwood.
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“The intent of these events is to connect women in all industries that impact city-building to form more working partnerships and to encourage more women-led developments and more women-led business connections,” Cross told the 150 attendees of the sold-out gathering. “When I say ‘business connections’, I want everyone to start talking about business when you’re here. How can we do business together? How can I help you? It’s also about being a conduit for other people, and not just thinking about how can you and I do business, but how can you do business with other people in my network. We’d really like to start having more of those conversations around actually forming some women-led developments.”
The CityBuildHERS event, which was presented by Colliers and backed by several businesses, was held at the brand new TELUS Legacy Lodge located at the east end zone of TD Place Stadium. The open-concept area is intended for networking events, staff appreciation nights and corporate hosting of clients.
“We’re really open to being creative with people about the type of event that want to have and how they want to utilize the space,” said Epp.
It was a beautiful night to be watching a football game outdoors. Extra thrilling was having a pair of CF-18 military jets roar over the stadium in honour of the Redblacks’ first regular-season home game of 2023, against the Calgary Stampeders.
“All of my events come with a fly-by,” quipped Cross after the powerful moment passed.
Organizers of CityBuildHERS said there was “tremendous interest” in the $75-a-ticket event, which included drinks, food, guest speakers and, of course, the football game.
“People signed up like that,” said Cross, snapping her fingers for effect.
Mark Goudie, CEO of OSEG, dropped in with CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie. Goudie spent a good 10 minutes talking about the Lansdowne 2.0 project and fielding questions, including whether the property could use a hotel. It’s a question he gets asked all the time.
“There for sure needs to be a hotel as part of this,” he said.
Goudie told the women he’s open to hearing their thoughts, especially for “a boutiquey, cool, kind of funky hotel”. He acknowledged that many of his builder and developer friends don’t think the hotel idea would work.
“I completely disagree, for a whole bunch of reasons,” said Goudie, who listed at least two: the proximity of Lansdowne to the historic Rideau Canal and the lack of accommodations in the immediate area. “It’s a wonderful place for a hotel.”
Ambrosie was asked whether the CFL was going to expand to Atlantic Canada. He said adding another team would balance the season schedule better and allow for the Grey Cup championship to happen a little earlier in fall, before it starts to get really cold.
“The bottom line is, we’re bent on expanding and growing our league,” said Ambrosie. “Atlantic Canada is where we are talking primarily today, but other markets are certainly an option.”
Attendees of CityBuildHERS heard all about Canada’s first all-women designed and developed condominium from Taya Cook, director of development at Toronto-based Urban Capital Property Group.
Cook was motivated to launch the project after seeing a magazine spread on the Top 20 condo developers in Toronto. They were all men.
“Something about it just really irked me,” said Cook, who put together a powerhouse team of women from all across the industry to build a family friendly urban condo community in Etobicoke. The nine-storey, 200-unit mid-rise condo development is called Reina, which is Spanish for Queen.
Cook said it was exciting for the group of women to get to call the shots for a change.
“Very few of us have the opportunity to really be the ultimate decision-makers. Often, we’re reporting to someone who’s more senior or who’s the owner of the company or the president of the company.”
She spoke about the consultation process that led to them designing a building that’s multi-generational and that offers family-orientated amenities, including stroller parking and bedrooms designed with children in mind. The condos, currently under construction, are 85 per cent sold.
Cook said one of the most rewarding parts of the process has been the connections she’s made with other women from her industry.
“I’ve always been at my desk, behind my scenes; if you told me four years ago I would talk in front of people I probably would have thrown up,” she joked. “The industry is changing. There are a lot of women who are coming into it and a lot of women who want to meet other women and promote each other and want to work together and make things happen.”
caroline@obj.ca
