Growing Into a REIT with Phil Fraser of Killam Apartment REIT

Let’s welcome Phil Fraser for this episode. He is the President, CEO, and Founder of Killam Apartment REIT. Killam is based in Halifax and originally had operations only in Atlantic Canada, but now spans Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia as well.

In addition to acquisitions, Killam has also constructed some of their own buildings, which Phil discusses. He also tells us about Atlantic Canada’s population growth hitting unprecedented levels and what Killam is implementing in its buildings to hit ESG targets.

Topics covered include:

• Phil’s path from when he first realized he wanted to be involved with real estate.
• How Killam got its name.
• What the residential investment landscape was like in the early 2000s.
• What motivated Phil to expand beyond Atlantic Canada.
• Comparing Killam’s approach to that of similar REITs.
• When Killam began constructing their own buildings.
• The strategy behind partnering on certain projects.
• What Phil is doing to manage the risks of rising construction costs.
• Combining apartments and condos on the same property.
• The fantastic market fundamentals before the pandemic and why Phil was skeptical.
• Seeing real population growth in Atlantic Canada in the past five years for the first time in Phil’s career.
• Housing supply and why Phil thinks it will continue to be a struggle.
• How ESG has converged into our world.
• Why Phil thinks Killam is a leader in multi-residential ESG.
• Will tenants pay more for a green building?
• A driver of lowering water consumption in buildings.
• Phil’s prediction for the future of Killam.

More about our guest….

Philip D. Fraser is President and Chief Executive Officer, and a Trustee, of Killam Apartment REIT (TSX:KMP:UN). Prior to the January 2016 REIT conversion, Mr. Fraser held the role of President and CEO, and a Director, of Killam Properties Inc., since its inception in 2000. Since its first acquisition in 2002, Killam has grown to over $4.7B in assets. Today, Killam is one of Canada’s largest residential real estate investment trusts, owning, operating, managing, and developing multi-family apartments and manufactured home communities. Mr. Fraser is a member of the Board of Governors and the Executive Committee at Saint Mary’s University.

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