A first-of-its-kind in Canada, the Jonathan Wener Centre for Real Estate has opened at Concordia University’s John Molson School of Business. The centre will be a hub for teaching and research on commercial and residential real estate.
“Real estate is a very sophisticated industry, requiring an awful lot of talent and knowledge from the people who enter the workforce,” says Jonathan Wener, BComm 71, chairman of Canderel and Concordia chancellor, whose $10 million gift to the Campaign for Concordia: Next-Gen. Now created the centre. “My hope is that our centre will provide the education and backing that our students need in a very demanding world.”
The real estate industry is one of the single largest contributors to Canada’s gross domestic product and an area of great interest to students. The centre’s main goals are to:
- Train the next generation of real estate professionals by providing students with the cutting-edge knowledge and real-world experience they need to succeed in the field;
- Drive innovation through knowledge creation and provide real estate leaders with insights into an evolving market and industry;
- Provide industry players and employees with training and tools to adapt and excel.
“The Jonathan Wener Centre for Real Estate is going to add great momentum for Concordia because of its uniqueness and because of its relevance,” says Concordia President Graham Carr. “We are grateful that our chancellor made his transformative gift to allow generations of students to make a dynamic contribution to Canadian society, to Canadian business and to the world in which we live.”
Michel Deslauriers, BComm 85, director of the Jonathan Wener Centre for Real Estate and a finance lecturer at Concordia’s John Molson School of Business, says demographic trends, technological advancements, environmental and, most recently, health concerns have brought about changes in the real estate industry.
