Industry Profile: Stephen Price of Graywood - Part 2

Last week, we sat down with Stephen Price, the new President and CEO of Graywood Developments, and discussed his history and experiences in the real estate industry.

In Part 2, we discuss his decision to join Graywood and the challenges he faces, as well as his vision for Graywood’s future.

NewInHomes (NIH): So, the question everyone wants to ask, why Graywood?

Stephen Price (SP): I was recruited to join Graywood as the Senior Vice-President of Corporate Development. I had originally gone to Great West Life hesitantly, unsure if it was what I wanted to do on a full-time basis. I agreed to join them because I was convinced that it would be valuable to me to undertake larger scale transactions. I wanted a challenge and to push myself. I took the role on with the view that it was not going to be a long-term one, which is why I was so interested when I was approached about the opportunity at Graywood.

My objective was to end up in a leadership opportunity with a privately held company in the development sector. It was also appealing to get the opportunity to work alongside Garnet Watchorn, the then-CEO and current Chairman. He struck me as a man with credibility and integrity, and that certainly has proven to be the case.

NIH: Looking back on your career, what’s one thing that you look at as a big accomplishment?

SP: I think a big part of my path has been based on taking on big challenges, being prepared to shoulder the load. Not yielding when the task appeared to be outside of what normal expectations are. At CPA, I made the commitment to reorganize over 60 properties with a team of two, and to manage the expectations of 2,000 investors who were all prepared to call on the status of their investment at any time. I developed the skills to manage the wide array of issues that we faced: mortgage issues, tenants leaving, managing properties that stretched across the country. It was a real challenge. Then, once the decision was made to go public, implementing that while still managing a successful real estate portfolio was a big task. I think I’m the type of person who performs better when the workload is seemingly bigger than what I should be able to handle, and I was able to prove that throughout my time there.

NIH: What sort of challenges will you and your team face at Graywood moving forward?

SP: I have three roles here: to ensure we are adequately financed with equity and capital to undertake our real estate development program, which is largely centered around real estate development and development projects; to ensure that there is a significant amount of opportunities coming into the door and executing on the deals that make sense; and to make sure that the business is organized, with the right people in place to undertake the activities that we do with the high standards that we have for ourselves. So, the challenges that we face will be multiple, but in my experience, finding good opportunities is always going to be the most difficult one. It’s a task that Graywood has been successful with for the past 28 years. We have always been able to find good transactions and avoid the bad, but it takes an incredible amount of discipline and resourcefulness. It requires good relations within the brokerage community and with private landowners. And it takes a good reputation, where people believe that you will deliver on what you put forward.

NIH: What are the characteristics of a Graywood Developments condominium suite? What do you want Graywood to be known for?

SP: I think they already are known for, and will continue to be known for their quality. We are known as the builder and developer of the Ritz Carlton project in Toronto. I think that represents the highest standard of quality for any project in Canada. While any project may have similar features and finishes, the quality of how those finishes are applied to other projects is going to be seen as a standard that Graywood brings to the table.

I think another thing that we want to be known for, whether to our investors or customers, is being a company that treats everyone as a customer. We still operate on a handshake basis here at Graywood. We tell people exactly what we are going to do, and we deliver. We feel that handshake mentality is what makes us different.

NIH: Let’s look at your success at Five Condos. How is the project moving forward?

SP: It’s been an incredibly positive experience. The building has been a case study in how to successfully implement a large-scale residential development on a heritage site. Not only has it been a successful project financially, it’s been received positively by everyone, be it purchasers, media, the city, and others. We undertook one of the largest heritage retention projects in the city, and have done it well. You could say ‘wide acclaim on all fronts,’ which is why we do this. We are in the construction phase now, and I’m happy to say that the project is moving ahead of schedule with costs coming in below budget. It’s a project that we are very proud of.

NIH: What’s your vision for Graywood Developments moving forward?

SP: I think we just need to maintain our status while enhancing certain aspects of the business. We are in a very important transition phase of the company. We are very interested in retaining all of Graywood’s brand equity, which has been built up from the two entrepreneurs who started the company. We are now transitioning that brand equity into the company itself and the team of professionals that have the same goals and objectives of developing quality projects in great locations, while delivering them in a way that is generating economic returns for our investors. We are not huge risk takers; we very carefully examine every project we take on because we are investing not only our money, but also our investors’ money – so we want to see that continued to be managed with the same standards that we have seen in the past. We’re taking it to the next level, and allowing Graywood to build a platform that will be sustainable for the next 30 years, one that will find high level talent and bring them into this company. I think there will be a significant amount of companies that will look to Graywood because we have set an example on how to start and continue a private development company.

I think you will be seeing more of Graywood moving forward. We pride ourselves on being a boutique real estate investment company, but our projects tend to have a fairly high profile. I think you’ll see us involved in more high-profile projects moving forward. I think our brand is starting to emerge on a wider basis, and that will likely continue to occur, and it will be based on us continuing to do great projects in great locations.