MG: Do you have a real estate property that got away?
DH: There was something that was disappointing at the time but was very fortuitous.
My parents came to Toronto penniless. And my father founded a real estate company here. When I was a kid, in 1967, with some partners, he assembled a block of land on the northwest corner of Yonge and Eglinton streets. It was the largest mixed-use development in Canada at the time. I was fascinated with that as a kid. About 12 years ago or so, that property came on the market. I wanted to acquire it. Because I saw the potential, not just because of the history. I lost out.
Shortly thereafter, 481 University [also called The United Building] came on the market and it felt magical. It’s in the heart of the city, connected to the subway. It’s right by the opera house, near the retail hub of Eaton Centre. It has great architecture and had housed a huge publishing house. It comprises a full city block but was underutilized.
Losing the other one enabled me to get this one.