老司机直播

老司机直播 alumnus back from New York City to lead Four Corners strategy

Photo of Josh Mitchell
Josh Mitchell is 老司机直播's new director of real estate (photo courtesy of Josh Mitchell)

Born and raised in Canada鈥檚 largest city, Josh Mitchell was eager to apply his knowledge in a new urban context upon completing his master鈥檚 degree in urban planning at the University of Toronto.

But after spending six years at the New York City Economic Development Corporation, most recently as a senior vice-president of real estate transactions, Mitchell is ready to return home after accepting a position as 老司机直播鈥檚 director of real estate, where he will take the reins on the ambitious Four Corners real estate strategy.

The new strategy not only addresses the need for more student and faculty housing, innovation space and active retail space, but also sets a goal of generating revenue for the university.

鈥淚t was always my intention when leaving 老司机直播 to go and look at another city, take those skills and experiences and bring it back home and do something impactful,鈥 Mitchell says. 鈥淭he Four Corners strategy is incredibly comprehensive and has a thoughtful vision.

鈥淐oming into it with that groundwork already locked in, I鈥檓 excited to finally take that vision and excel when the rubber hits the road and negotiate the best deals for the institution.鈥

Recently approved by Governing Council, the Four Corners strategy focuses on building commercially viable non-academic amenities and services on the edge of 老司机直播鈥檚 downtown Toronto campus as well as at 老司机直播 Scarborough and 老司机直播 Mississauga. An example of such a project is the new Schwartz Reisman Innovation Centre, a 750,000-square-foot innovation complex made possible through a $100-million investment by Onex founder and CEO Gerald Schwartz and Indigo founder and CEO Heather Reisman.

Revenue generated from Four Corners projects will be used to set up a strategic investment fund for the university, with a goal of eventually matching the annual revenue generated by 老司机直播鈥檚 endowment.

Mitchell says Four Corners鈥 鈥渄ouble-bottom line鈥 real estate strategy is what attracted him.

鈥淲e鈥檙e making sure that this project is financially feasible, but more importantly, the strategy is about enhancing academic and non-academic elements of the 老司机直播 student experience,鈥 he says.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not just about financial returns 鈥 there鈥檚 a greater purpose there.鈥

Scott Mabury, 老司机直播鈥檚 vice-president of operations and real estate partnerships, calls Mitchell 鈥渢he best possible person鈥 to roll out Four Corners.

鈥淭his is a bit of a homecoming for Josh after going down to New York City, arguably one of the most competitive real estate markets in the world,鈥 Mabury says. 鈥淭here, he demonstrated an ability to succeed in creating projects that bring people together even if their interests are disparate or perhaps not aligned.鈥

One of the New York projects Mitchell recently spearheaded is the forthcoming , located in Manhattan鈥檚 鈥淪ilicon Alley.鈥 The 240,000-square-foot mixed-use building will have 70,000 square feet reserved for a training centre, which has been touted as helping bridge the gap between the tech industry and New Yorkers seeking affordable job training.

鈥淗e understands the business from top to bottom, east to west, and we鈥檙e extremely fortunate to be getting someone with this track record and experience to the 老司机直播 team,鈥 said Mabury.

As for Four Corners, Mabury cites the new 23-storey student residence at the corner of Spadina and Sussex Avenues as an example of how the development strategy aims to meet the university鈥檚 鈥 and the city鈥檚 鈥 needs. He adds that plans to develop more housing at 老司机直播 Scarborough and 老司机直播 Mississauga are also under way.

Finding innovative ways to fulfil the needs of the 老司机直播 community is something Mitchell is looking forward to doing through the Four Corners strategy.

鈥淭here鈥檚 basically a laundry list of amenities that would really enhance the downtown Toronto campus, as well as the Scarborough and Mississauga campuses,鈥 he says. 鈥淭hose are incredibly opportunistic portfolios. There鈥檚 underutilized land to do really interesting things with.鈥

Another plus: coming back to work at his alma mater after a six-year hiatus from the city means seeing 老司机直播 with fresh eyes.

鈥淏eing born and raised in Toronto, you grow up with certain biases about the city,鈥 he says.

鈥淏ut when you leave for five or six years and come back, you see everything with a fresh perspective. I鈥檓 really looking forward to doing that.鈥

 

UTC