Frontline Real Estate Services‘ four brokers have joined Vancouver-based Goodman Commercial and will enable the company to better expand its reach into the Fraser Valley and eastern Vancouver suburbs.
“We’re giving them exposure in a platform here and they’re helping us service a larger geographic area,” Goodman Commercial principal and Goodman Report publisher Mark Goodman told RENX.
“It’s the perfect amalgamation of two powerhouse teams coming together under the Goodman banner.”
Goodman and Frontline founder Justin Mitchell have known each other for years and Goodman’s company needed new brokers to handle an increasing amount of business. Bringing on Mitchell, Adam Lawrence, Megan Johal and Sam Taktsang to join Goodman and Adam Brackett will benefit both parties.
Rapid integration of new team members
The four former Frontline brokers have already moved into Goodman’s Granville Street office space from their former office on 201 Street in Langley. Considering the evolving British Columbia real estate market, rapid integration was favoured.
“There are so many policy initiatives and land use changes, whether it’s the Broadway Plan or the Grandview Woodland Plan or transit-oriented development initiatives,” Goodman said. “Our city is changing really quickly.”
Among other programs in play are:
- the Cambie Corridor Plan;
- the federal government’s recently announced $1.5-billion Canada Rental Protection Fund;
- the BC Rental Protection Fund;
- the expansion of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s Apartment Construction Loan Program;
- a new Canada Builds program aimed at delivering affordable purpose-built rentals on government, non-profit and community-owned lands;
- the provincial Bill 47, which introduced provincial transit-oriented areas;
- and the provincial Bill 18, which proposes changes to the Vancouver Charter that require the creation of a city-wide Official Development Plan (ODP) and the elimination of public hearings for ODP-compliant rezonings.
Frontline and Goodman’s combined strengths
Frontline has transacted more than $4.2 billion of real estate over the past 16 years and its team members have been widening their interest and influence from Surrey, Langley and the Tri-Cities to move deeper into New Westminster, Burnaby and Vancouver.
In addition to their expertise in selling development land, investment real estate and project marketing, the former Frontline brokers have also built the largest database of Fraser Valley land ownership.
Goodman’s father David was involved with his first property sale in 1972 and Goodman Commercial has since been involved in more than 2,000 transactions totalling more than $2 billion in sales volume.
Goodman’s prominence has traditionally been in land and apartment buildings, but it also handles industrial properties and will be moving more into commercial properties.
The Goodman Report provides insights and market data on rental apartment buildings and development sites and is involved with market education and advocacy.
“We will be collaborating on a lot of mandates together and our existing Goodman Commercial clients will be very happy to have additional bench strength as it relates to land throughout all geographic regions in British Columbia,” Goodman said.
Listings are already happening
The new arrangement has already resulted in five development sites being listed and more are on the way in the next month, according to Goodman.
These include:
- a 4.68-acre wood frame development site at 20212 and 20186 86 Ave. in Langley that’s listed for $16 million. It has the development potential for two six-storey buildings with 223 residential units;
- and a 0.78-acre transit-oriented development site at 606-624 Godwin Court in Coquitlam that’s listed for $11.8 million. It includes seven income-generating properties under a single ownership and has the potential to expand by adding an adjacent area of 17,849 square feet.
“We needed astute brokers that had the experience to assist us in the changing landscape in Metro Vancouver,” Goodman said. “It’s as if the whole city has become a construction site.”
Goodman recently brokered the sale of a 2.62-acre development site at 20596 Dewdney Trunk Rd., which also fronts the Lougheed Highway near Westgate Shopping Centre in Maple Ridge, that was listed for $14.7 million. That listing didn’t involve the former Frontline team.