BCBusiness

34 BC BU S I N E S S .C A J A N U A R Y/ F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 5 I HAVE ONE REAL MEMORY of Colin Buck. In my first week of grade 8 at the high school I attended on Vancouver's west side, a bigger kid threatened me about some- thing or other. I was five feet tall, so that happened occasionally. Buck, also short and wearing skate apparel, came to my defence and we chased the assailant away. He was, from everything else I can remem- ber, generally a nice kid. He left after a few months to go to a nearby school. We didn't have much contact in the intervening years, but you heard the sto- ries. First it was classmates recounting tales about being taken along on trips to Disneyland with his family on a whim. Then, as we got older, it was Lamborghi- nis. And drag racing. And yacht parties. And a big, lavish wedding and the hushed separation that followed. So when I meet Colin Wall outside of an apartment complex in Kitsilano, I'm not sure what to expect. Wall, who changed his name when he turned 18 and doesn't have much connection to his father's side of the family, grew up in Vancouver as the son of Sonja Wall and grandson of real estate developer Peter Wall, founder of Wall Financial and the force behind One Wall Centre—once the tallest building in the city—as well as many other developments. At 35 years old, the younger Wall has decided to set off on his own. He's part- nered with his grandmother, visual artist Charlotte Wall, to start Hollybush Hold- ings and develop the building we're stand- ing in front of, which has been in the Wall family for years. It's the first move in what could be (if he plays it right) a long career in the industry. Covered neck to toe in tattoos and tak- ing hits from a mango-flavoured vape, Wall, who has zero social media presence, isn't exactly what you'd expect to see in a real estate developer, even a younger one. His tone isn't in concert with most of his peers, either: he's open and excitable, his blue eyes nearly popping out of his head when he smiles, which he does often. He's tall now, and has traded in DC and Etnies logos for cashmere and high-end athlei- sure, while the ski jump hairstyle of our youth has been replaced with a fade that leaves just enough of his blond hair droop- ing down for him to brush away with his hands when he's not using them to talk. He insists he doesn't have enemies in the industry and that everyone has been nice and supportive—a slight departure from the outlook of his grandfather, to say the least. As the next wave of property develop- ers—many of them the progeny of fami- lies made famous in the city's real estate boom—prepare to take over the city, their true natures will be revealed. Wall, who talks about city building in a sustainable and inclusive way, is on his own now. He'll likely always be rich. But can he make a name for himself ? Can he shape the city in a progressive way? Does he have any actual interest in helping people find homes? Not many people tell you who they are right away. Even fewer etch it onto them- selves. The entire left side of Wall's body is marked with what he calls "good" images. Angels and crosses, the names of his mom and his stepdad, who helped raise Wall and who passed away just over two years ago. On the right is "evil"—there are demons, upside-down crosses, signs of death. Only time will tell which side of his spine people will identify him with. REAL ESTATE RIDING HIGH Colin Wall grew up on Vancouver's west side as the son of Sonja Wall and the grandson of real estate mogul Peter Wall

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