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Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/740454
W E S G R O U P P R O P E R T I E S P R O M O T E D C O N T E N T Redefining Real Estate A family operated business for over five decades, Wesgroup continues to leave a lasting impression all across the Lower Mainland with its innovative and award-winning developments W esgroup Properties is a real estate company, but their strategy lies beyond development projects. The core of their business model is entrepreneurial: they operate from a dynamic model that favours flexibility, opportunism and diversity. "Our approach is to think strategically, to look at long term real estate trends in the Lower Mainland, think of the big picture, and to act accordingly," says David Wesik, Vice President of Operations and Corporate Development at Wesgroup. "We don't get stuck trying to do business in real estate in conventional ways. We're quite the opposite. That's who we are and that's how we differentiate. That's a big reason for the success we've had." This foundation of long term thinking and entrepreneurialism has been the guiding force since the company's inception. Wesik has learned from his father and grandfather, who began talking about the business at the kitchen table over 50 years ago. Since then, Wesgroup has not been afraid of trying new things: they take on project types with different asset classes and markets, adding a mixture of industrial warehouses, office buildings and residential complexes throughout Metro Vancouver. "We do all of those projects and everything in between. Do we have a preference for one or the other? I would say probably not, as long as the opportunity itself is good," says Wesik. Wesgroup's current projects include Vancouver's largest master-planned mixed use community, River District Vancouver, located in the southeast corner of Vancouver along the Fraser River; Brewery District, another riverside master- planned mixed use community located in New Westminster at the Sapperton Skytrain Station; PacificLink, an 83-acre industrial park in North Surrey adjacent to the SFPR; and Langley City Square, a retail redevelopment along the Langley Bypass and 200th Street. Whether Wesgroup is forming socially enriched communities with their mixed- use developments, or offering end-to-end real estate services ranging from brownfield remediation and development, acquisition, and property management, their goal of enhancing the well-being of those that live and work in the areas they build is paramount. For Wesgroup, this means embracing a balance that encourages community development through both social programs and a commitment to sustainable long-term growth. Stable Growth While Wesgroup has a large condo development arm, they also hold and retain a significant portfolio in commercial real estate and apartment buildings. The team asserts that this combination of long-term ownership and diversity of real estate products is key to the stable growth of their portfolio. Beyond condo development, other asset classes within real estate, like industrial, office and retail, allow them to own a variety of assets that balance out one another. Having long-term commercial tenants, for example, diversifies their portfolio and