Development & Project Management

WE GET THINGS DONE
RedM Group provides professional expertise at every step in the development process to move projects forward.
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who we are

ABOUT US
Created in 2013 by industry veterans Steve Elias and Kevin Johnston, RedM Group takes its name from our expertise and passion: Real Estate Development Management. We are a boutique firm founded and based in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Our entrepreneurial mindset treats every project dollar as our own, so we are relentless in our search to find and add value to the bottom line. This could also mean spending more capital dollars to keep ongoing operating costs down in a building you are keeping. We are problem solvers and pride ourselves on finding innovative ways for our clients to profit from the rapidly changing development landscape. We are driven by progress and results, so we are continually pushing … to speed up the schedule, to keep costs down, to increase revenue.
Many people have asked about our logo. In our industry, everyone is striving for excellence in three areas: Quality. Schedule. Budget. The rule of thumb is that two out of three of these are easily achievable. For example, building a quality home in a tight timeframe is do-able if you pay a premium. Similarly, a building may go up quickly and under budget, but the quality is usually lacking. At RedM, we consider the three balls of Quality, Schedule and Budget to be equally important and believe we must keep our eye on all of them as we move projects forward.

We are professionals committed to conducting business with people who share our core values of integrity, transparency and trust.

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what we do

OUR SERVICES

As development management specialists, RedM Group acts on behalf of developers, investors and owners of real estate. We assemble teams and lead projects, stage by stage, from inception through to construction completion. We analyze, advise and act with the owner’s best interests in mind to make the right decisions for the optimal outcome. We get things done.

RedM Group provides flexible development management expertise for all sizes, from a lone landowner to a large well-established developer. We recognize that everyone has different motivations, objectives, skill sets and capacity. We work closely and collaboratively with clients to calibrate our role and services to meet their project requirements.

LAND PURCHASE

  • Undertaking detailed financial analysis and due diligence on sites. On one multi-year multi-phased project, we discovered over 13,000 square feet of density that had not been recognized or utilized.
  • We are experts in land residual and land proforma, planning and strategy. On a recent project, we increased the value by $15 million by reworking the revenue model with the appraiser.
  • We know all the lenders in town and can assist in keeping the money flowing if issues arise.

REZONING

  • Navigating the municipal process in a pre-planned, logical and detailed approach to obtain the Development and Rezoning Approvals in an expedited manner.
  • Challenging the design team. On a recent project – using innovative thinking and value-engineering – we eliminated an entire level of underground parking and saved our client over $1 million dollars.
  • Handling the RFP process and assembling the best consultant team for the project.
  • Negotiating CACs strategically. We do our homework in order to obtain the best outcome for our clients.

DEVELOPMENT PERMIT PROCESS

  • Quarterbacking all aspects of the Development Permit application and making sure that what’s being designed meets the criteria of original proforma.
  • Coordinating with sales and leasing teams to ensure final product meets their requirements for rapid market absorption.
  • Overseeing and clearly communicating with all consultants to ensure adherence to project schedule, and quickly troubleshooting obstacles.
  • Doggedly following up with municipal planners to move the project forward.

BUILDING PERMIT & CONSTRUCTION

  • Working with consultants to complete the design for a smooth and stress-free Building Permit application process.
  • Proactively managing costs and continuously value-engineering to make sure the project stays within budget.
  • Monitoring the construction activities and schedule logic and ensuring the contractor delivers the building on schedule with the quality expected.

OCCUPANCY PERMIT

  • Driving the consultants to ensure coordination of final inspections and all necessary paperwork to make certain the Occupancy Permit is received.
  • Getting the building up and running – managing the commissioning of all building systems.

STRATEGIC CONSULTING

  • When in-house resources are short, RedM can step in and be your Acquisitions team, Development Manager or Project Manager on a short or long term basis.
  • Delivering senior-level Executive Management support to the Executive Team. In a local growing development company, RedM is providing recommendations, strategies and initiatives to allow the company to undertake over a billion in sales over the next five years.
RedM Group can assist and add value at any stage during the development process. But maybe you don’t know where to start, or what services you may need. Let’s have a coffee together – sometimes it’s easiest to sit down and talk things through.
Steve EliasManaging Partner
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transportation

AIRPORT SERVICES

Kevin Johnston leads RedM’s Airport Services division, providing primarily advisory and project management oversight services.

From 1997 to 2008, Kevin directly managed numerous airport expansions, starting with a successful experience in Santiago, Chile where he was project manager of the $200 million USD airport expansion which was delivered 3 months ahead of schedule. This led to having oversight of all capital expenditure (CAPEX) programs for Vancouver Airport Services YVRAS (now Vantage Airport Group) encompassing over 15 airports in 7 countries, and a 5-year budget of $1.5 billion.

From August 2018 to March 2020 Kevin provided project management oversight and advisory services to Quiport (Corporación Quiport SA), the concessionaire for the Mariscal Sucre International Airport in Quito Ecuador.

With the airport terminal master plan, terminal expansion design, and construction phasing plans completed, the construction program started late 2019.   In March 2020, Covid 19 caused an abrupt stoppage to the construction program.

With a solid project management background, over a decade of experience with YVRAS  – whose roots are strongly based in operations – five years serving on the Santiago airport board—and more recent experience in Quito Ecuador, Kevin thoroughly understands airport concessions and the airport business. With his fluency in Spanish, he would be a key asset to any team undertaking CAPEX expansion projects, particularly in existing operational airports in Latin America and the Caribbean.

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subject matter experts

OUR PEOPLE

Steve Elias

FRICS PQS
Managing Partner

Steve is a numbers guy, and his love of sums and statistics naturally led him into the real estate industry, where he’s operated for the past 29 years.

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Steve is a numbers guy, and his love of sums and statistics naturally led him into the real estate industry, where he’s operated for the past 29 years.

For almost two decades, Steve worked at Altus Group and ran the Cost Division in Western Canada. He was directly involved in hundreds of projects annually, with project values ranging from a few million dollars to over a billion dollars. Notable examples in Vancouver include Olympic Village in False Creek, Hotel Georgia & Residences, Shangri-La Hotel & Residences, Harbour Green Residences and Jameson House.

Originally from the UK and a registered chartered quantity surveyor, Steve is a member of RICS, a global organization promoting and enforcing the highest international standards for property professionals. Its role is to serve the public interest for ethical advice and impartial guidance. Steve served as the Past Chair for Canada and continues to volunteer his time as an Assessor for future RICS candidates.

Away from the office, you’ll find this golf addict enthusiast on the course, in the kitchen experimenting with his latest gadget, or binge-watching Netflix with his three teenagers.

Kevin B. Johnston

P.Eng
Managing Partner

Kevin has been responsible for the delivery of real estate projects and capital expansion works of more than $3 billion dollars in the last 30 years.

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With a combined degree in engineering and management, Kevin has been responsible for the delivery of real estate projects and capital expansion works of more than $3 billion dollars in the last 30 years.

A project management role at Expo 86 in Vancouver was followed by progressively senior positions at Expo 88 (Australia), Expo 92 (Spain) and Expo 93 (Korea). Kevin returned to Vancouver as part of the Owner’s Representative team to manage the design and construction of General Motors Place (now Rogers Arena), then turned his attention towards something even more challenging: airports. For more than a decade, Kevin held project management, project oversight, and board of director positions in numerous national and international airports.

On the local real estate side, Kevin has held senior executive construction roles with Citysphere Project Management, Replay Resorts, Intracorp Properties and Westbank/ICON Pacific.    When he’s not amassing frequent flyer miles, Kevin enjoys training in martial arts, spending time with his family, and hanging out with fellow motorcycle and automobile aficionados.

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get in touch

CONTACT US

Address

Suite 2088 – 777 Hornby Street
Vancouver, BC V6Z 1S4
Canada

Steve Elias

Email: steve.elias@redmgroup.ca

Phone: (778) 327-8250

Kevin Johnston

Email: kevin.johnston@redmgroup.ca

Phone: (604) 612-0133

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