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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 C o u r t e s y P a ul Ky l e G all e r y/ i m a g e b y Ky l e J u r o n
After high school, Wall began (with the
help of his family to start, of course) buying
pre-sale and existing condos and flipping
them for profit. He also spent a large part
of his 20s travelling the world. "I wanted
to have some freedom—I didn't like school
and didn't do well with it," he says. "So I
got an education through travelling and
seeing what different cultures were like. I
got to see how different people live and that
having lots doesn't always mean that you're
happier. I've seen that firsthand." Wall, a
self-described adrenaline junkie, also did a
stint professionally racing cars in the U.S.
He admits, though, that his 20s weren't
exactly a time of great maturity. "When I
was younger, all I cared about was having
fun, nice cars, being exactly what you'd
think," he says. "I never wanted to be a
douchebag. I probably did come across
like that to some people, which is a shame."
In 2016, he got married in a lavish cel-
ebration at the Rosewood Hotel Georgia. A
Grammy Award nominee sang "Ave Maria"
and some of Wall's friends dressed up as
stormtroopers to usher in guests as a nod
to his Star Wars fandom. A few years later,
the couple divorced.
"I think I was a bit too young; I didn't
know what I wanted at the time," Wall says.
"We parted amicably—I have no ill feel-
ings toward her, and I hope she has none
toward me."
Wall did try his hand at different busi-
nesses. The first was a cabinet company in
Richmond, through which he and a friend
acquired some machinery to fabricate cabi-
nets to sell to developers. Their first con-
tract was with his family, though Wall says
with a laugh that they "ruined me on the
price. It was a good life lesson." That com-
pany lasted for a few years, but as construc-
tion costs went up the margins became too
thin to make it work.
Then there was another venture
involving the international shipping of
metallurgical coal. Wall and a friend were
deep into that before the Ukraine/Russia
war began to cause heavy fluctuations in
the coal trade.
After that, he decided it was time to
fully dive into real estate development. "My
focus now is more on the work and the city
and following in the footsteps of my grand-
father, who has given me every opportu-
nity," he says. "Do I still love nice cars and
having fun? Yeah, who doesn't? But at the
end of the day, my focus has switched to
'what can I do now?' instead of 'what can
be done for me?'"
REAL
ESTATE
LIGHT IT UP
Artist Charlotte Wall,
Colin's grandmother
and business partner,
is exhibiting Open Sun
(produced in 2024) at
the Paul Kyle Gallery
in Vancouver
PERMITTING
1:
