The days when Donato Broccolini gave a simple handshake as a contract to build houses are well and truly over. The construction company he founded in 1949 and which bears his name must today maneuver with tight management of its operations due to the costs of materials, the lack of labor and interest rates. .
The entrepreneur died just over a week ago at the age of 97. His son Joseph, Executive Vice-President, talks about his father’s vision to have a family business with his four boys».
In recent decades, he and his brothers have ensured a strong expansion and diversification of the organization in Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto.
© Broccolini
Arrived from Italy at the age of six, Donato Broccolini built and sold a first house in 1949, then mansions and apartment buildings multiplied.
Offices, numerous industrial and commercial facilities for Amazon and Canadian Tire, the Saputo stadium, Mel’s studios and the new Maison de Radio-Canada were built by Broccolini. In the past two years, the developer and builder has made 150 new hires; the workforce now totals 500 people.
The last few years have also represented a return to basics with the construction of residential buildings, but on a large scale this time.
My grandfather started with the residential sectorrecalls COO Anthony Broccolini, a member of the company’s third generation. It was his whole career.»
Gallery: Buying a house: watch out for hidden costs! (Espresso)
The Avenue in downtown Montreal, completed in 2017, is now part of the urban fabric with its intricate architecture. We have a great responsibility to add value, not just to skylinebut also to the urban fabric“, he argues. We invest a lot of time in the design.»
The new National Bank Tower and the luxury residential building Victoria sur le parc, both neighbors and erected by Broccolini, will soon be part of the skyline of the Montreal metropolis.
© Broccolini
The National Bank Tower and the residential building Victoria sur le parc will be added to the Montreal skyline once they are completed in 2023.
Condo sales postponed
The Broccolini, however, cannot help but admit that the situation is sometimes difficultdue to inflation and labor shortages. In fact, according to Statistics Canada, construction costs for residential buildings jumped 18.1% in the country in 2021. In the non-residential sector, the increase remained more moderate, at 6.9%.
Projects that take up to four or five years to build are therefore not without challenges. The affordable housing that Broccolini plans to build on the edge of the Metropolitan Express Network in the west of the island will have to wait.
From now on, Broccolini even plans to put 30 to 40% of the condos up for sale shortly before the end of the work in order to better absorb the costs and the market value, or even to avoid losing money. This strategy previously targeted 10 to 15% of units. Potential buyers must add their name to a waiting list.
This is unheard of, underlines Joseph Broccolini. It blows up our parameters a bit, but we also protect ourselves with the purchase of materials in advance, for example.»
The risk must be carefully calculated for Broccolini, which today owns spaces of some twenty million square feet worth several billion dollars.