In the world of real estate, the typical approach is that some companies focus on development, while others act as general contractors or property managers. But for Geoff Milnes, combining these three areas not only makes good business sense; it allows Progressive Real Estate to vertically integrate the entire building process. The result? Streamlined operations and the ability to meet strict timelines, manage trusted subcontractors, and serve the needs of multi-family apartment residents in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
“We’re a one-stop shop,” says Company President Milnes. “That’s exactly who we are. We are the people who buy the land and do all the predevelopment tasks. We are the developer, then the general contractor. And when it’s done, we are also the property manager.”
A full-time student at the University of Manitoba in the early 2000s, Calgary-raised Milnes served as General Manager with Student Works West. As a full-time business manager and industrial salesperson with Acklands-Grainger, he managed portfolios for several high-profile businesses in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Hungry for more, the young Milnes began flipping houses and co-founded Insideout Painting. Often exhausted from working multiple jobs through these formative years, the passionate young entrepreneur founded Progressive Real Estate in 2010 with a business partner.
“I had little free time back then and was very busy, but was interested in running my own business, so that never really went away,” he says. “Eventually, all those things I was doing on the side became significant enough for me to quit the 9-to-5 job and focus on other things.” Leaving his full-time job and guaranteed paycheque with Acklands-Grainger was admittedly nerve-racking, but it was a risk he knew he had to take.
Today, Progressive is part of Milnes’ Progressive Real Estate Group, which incorporates many of the building services he created over the years. Considerably more than just a developer, Progressive handles property management, design-build, and painting and other finishing services through its associated companies.
Today, Progressive has completed 16 developments, constructing 470 much-needed apartment units. And with another 14 developments in progress, lack of work is never an issue. Historically, the company has tried to keep many of the buildings it has created for itself and serve as property manager.
Much of Progressive Real Estate Group’s strength comes from forming long-term relationships with contractors and with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), which provides solutions for housing finance, research, and data, and delivers government housing programs.
As one of Winnipeg’s foremost developers and managers of multi-family apartments, Progressive is proud of its relationship with the Federal Crown Corporation. “It’s no secret most developers are using CMHC now,” Milnes says. “You have access to the best rates, the best amortizations, and from a personal standpoint, I feel the MLI Select Program is a way better program than previous ones; it hits on better social metrics like energy efficiency and affordable housing and accessibility.”
Coming under CMHC’s mortgage loan insurance products, the select program focuses on multi-residential units and their role in addressing Canada’s housing shortage. 10 to 15 percent of Progressive’s projects are deemed ‘affordable.’ The maximum rent for these 600- to 700-square-foot one-bedroom units in Manitoba is $1,100 per month, and these apartments are occupied very quickly. “All housing seems to go fast,” says Milnes.
Over the years, Progressive has formed long-lasting relationships with industry partners, including subcontractors. Along with working with many of the same skilled people over and over, the company has built an internal team that assists with tasks like moving, installing temporary fixtures, cleaning, and getting things prepared for subcontractors.
Apartments managed by Progressive also have people who live in the buildings who perform such duties as maintenance, snow clearing, and responding to tenant concerns, while a secondary group is available to assist with maintenance issues. All of these combined services make Progressive unique and better able to serve Winnipeg’s growing real estate market.
“We have several competitors here, but there aren’t that many that self-perform construction, so we’re unique in that sense,” says Milnes. “Most would hire a general contractor or someone else to do the actual build; they may be the developer on record, but they are likely not the general contractor, and probably not the property manager. Conversely, we handle it all. And I think we make better decisions because of that setup.”
Since Progressive is instrumental in projects from start to finish—and often afterwards as property manager—the company has a significant stake in project success and longevity. Rather than using run-of-the-mill products, Progressive always uses quality materials and finishes. Going with cheaper products means you are setting yourself up for costly and inconvenient maintenance issues down the road.
“When you pick something better, it is more functional and better for everyone, including us, because we have to manage those issues. So we’re not pushing the problems on to someone else; we actually think about those things.” The company evaluates quality and functionality, employing such products as thicker kitchen countertops and solid core doors instead of hollow core, because they’re not going to break as easily. “Decisions like these made through the design process ultimately lead to a better building,” says Milnes.
It is no secret that Winnipeg is one of the coldest cities in Canada. Realizing this, Progressive focuses on creating multi-family developments able to withstand brutally frigid winters. The company has always focused on creating wood frame structures up to six storeys high that are built far better than they absolutely have to be.
“We are always building above code,” comments Milnes. “Winnipeg can be a cold place, and bills can be very heavy in the winter months with gas and electricity usage. Even if we weren’t paying the bills, we wanted to build buildings better in that sense.” This includes insulating the building envelope and optimizing energy-efficient HVAC systems for heating and cooling. By having open discussions with professionals when embarking on new projects, Progressive comes up with the best possible solutions.
In Winnipeg, the Progressive Real Estate Group is widely regarded as a champion of infill housing. Unlike many greenfield builders who have constructed homes on the outskirts of cities with an ‘If you build it, they will come’ attitude, Progressive takes on projects in established residential areas. In this way, tenants benefit from existing roads and infrastructure, transit, grocery and convenience stores, movie theatres, restaurants, and other services.
“I prefer to build in existing areas because it’s the highest and best use of the land,” says Milnes. “Winnipeg is stretched thin trying to provide for a city that’s already so large, and if you build in greenfield areas, all you’re doing is making the footprint of the city even larger and stretching those services even further. When you go up and not out, you are using everything that’s already there.” And since Progressive’s multi-family projects are new, well-built, and close to amenities, renting them is never a problem. “That’s a lot of who we are. We are infill developers.”
Known as experts in four- to six-storey wood frame construction, Progressive is considering going even bigger one day, which will call for concrete and steel.
Next year, the company will embark on its biggest project to date. Replacing an empty lot at 1131 Nairn, this new infill development in East Elmwood will be adjacent to an upcoming rapid transit line and near schools, walking trails, and the Kildonan Place shopping mall. At six storeys, the project will feature 102 units including one, two, and three-bedroom apartments with high-end finishes, a multi-purpose room, games room, state-of-the-art fitness centre, three commercial spaces on the main floor for rent, and more.
In the future, Geoff Milnes wants to see Progressive build on the Winnipeg developments it has in progress and help others who are interested in property development. The company is often approached by interested parties who have some of the building blocks needed for development—like land or money—but don’t know how to accomplish it.
“What we are finding now is that we’re able to use our expertise and knowledge from the last 14 years to help others do something similar to what we do,” he says. “So what I’d like to see happen is this mix of internal projects—the ones we are doing themselves, and they are our buildings—and doing some of the same for others through partnerships, doing it for them, or helping in whatever capacity they need,” he explains.
“I think that blend would be good for our business: some external work and some internal work. That can all happen in Winnipeg. Eventually, we may move to Calgary or some other jurisdiction and do the same thing there. In my mind, that’s how I see the company evolving.”
