About this podcast
What does it take to turn a real estate opportunity into a completed project—and what can go wrong along the way?
On Real Estate Development Insights, host Payam Noursalehi draws on two decades in engineering, construction and development management to explore how projects actually get done.
Through candid conversations with developers, investors, architects, planners, lenders and construction professionals, we examine the decisions behind development feasibility, financing, approvals, design and construction. Guests share lessons from their projects: the numbers, the trade-offs, the setbacks and what they would do differently.
With a focus on Toronto and the Canadian market, we explore multiplexes, missing-middle housing, mid-rise buildings and purpose-built rental developments, alongside broader industry challenges and emerging construction methods.
Whether you’re assessing your first site or managing your next development, these conversations help you ask better questions, understand the risks and make more informed decisions.
Hosted by Payam Noursalehi, founder of Solnik Construction Group & Mid-Rise.ca
Episodes
The newest 20 of 64 episodes
- (64) From Architect to Multiplex Developer: Lessons from the Site - Noam Hazan · 39 min · Episode 64Send us Fan Mail What changes when the architect becomes the developer—and takes responsibility for getting the project built? In this episode, Payam Noursalehi speaks with Noam…
- (63) Building Small Mid-Rise in Toronto: What Developers Need to Know - Heather Dubbeldam & Derek McCallum · 1 h 4 min · Episode 63Send us Fan Mail What should you investigate before turning a Toronto major-street property into a small mid-rise apartment project? Heather Dubbeldam and Derek McCallum of…
- (62) Toronto Housing Approvals: What’s Changing - Jag Sharma - Deputy City Manager - City of Toronto · 47 min · Episode 62Send us Fan Mail What is changing inside Toronto’s housing approval system—and what will developers actually notice? Jag Sharma, Deputy City Manager for Development and Growth…
- (61) Should You Build a Multiplex? 5 Checks Before You Commit · 41 min · Episode 61Send us Fan Mail Should You Build a Toronto Multiplex? Five Questions to Answer First I run a construction company, so it may be against my own interest to say this: not every…
- (60) Toronto’s 2026 Housing Incentives: What Developers Need to Recalculate · 27 min · Episode 60Send us Fan Mail Toronto has announced residential development-charge reductions of 40% to 60%, backed by $1.5 billion in funding. But the commercial question is not simply how…
- (59) CMHC Financing for Small Mid-Rise Projects - Abtin Nikeghbali - Canada ICI · 40 min · Episode 59Send us Fan Mail CMHC MLI Select may offer compelling financing terms for purpose-built rental development—but “up to 95% loan-to-cost” does not mean every project will receive…
- (58) Development Charges Explained: The Growth Cost No One Can Ignore · 29 min · Episode 58Send us Fan Mail Development Charges Explained: Why They Rose, What Went Wrong, and What DC Relief Means for Housing In this episode, Payam discusses development charges (DCs) as…
- (57) Mid-Rise Purpose-Built Rental: Underwriting Rent, Absorption, and Exit Risk - Mathieu Fleury -Leader Lane · 52 min · Episode 57Send us Fan Mail Mid-Rise Purpose-Built Rental - Mathieu Fleury on Leader Lane’s Mid-Rise Mass Timber Rentals, Market Risk, and What Toronto Needs to Build More Housing Payam…
- (56) 42 Years of Development Lessons on Building Better Communities - Jake Cohen - Daniels Corporation · 58 min · Episode 56Send us Fan Mail Jake Cohen, president of the Daniels Corporation, shares development lessons from Daniels’ 42-year history as a vertically integrated development and…
- (55) How to Unlock More Mid-Rise Housing in Toronto - Richard Witt - BDP Quadrangle · 49 min · Episode 55Send us Fan Mail How to Unlock More Mid-Rise Housing in Toronto - Richard Witt In this episode of the Real Estate Development Insights Podcast, Richard Witt, Global Head of…
- (54) How Institutional Investors Really Look at Development Risk - Jeff Thomas - KingSett Capital · 53 min · Episode 54Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Jeff Thomas, Group Head of Development at KingSett Capital, explains how the Canadian private equity firm invests in Canadian commercial real…
- (53) Why Better Buildings Start With Structure, Not Finishes - Stuart Wilson - Alterra Development · 53 min · Episode 53Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the Real Estate Development Insights Podcast, Stuart Wilson, President of Alterra Developments, shares his path from Scotland (quantity…
- (52) Single-Stair in Canada: What’s Actually Changed and What Still Has to Happen - Conrad Speckert & Jack Keays · 36 min · Episode 52Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Payam interviews building code consultants Conrad and Jack about the push to allow single-stair residential buildings in Canada, especially in…
- (51) Why Development Projects Fail: The 6 Pillars of Success, Part 2 · 39 min · Episode 51Send us Fan Mail Lessons Learned: The Development Readiness Framework for Managing Real Estate Risk Payam, hosts part two of a “lessons learned” series on Real Estate Development…
- (50) Why do some projects fail while others succeed? - The 6 Pillars of Development Success · 27 min · Episode 50Send us Fan Mail (50) The 6 Pillars of Development Readiness - Why some projects fail while others succeed? In the 50th episode of the Real Estate Development Insights podcast…
- (49) Toronto Multiplexes: The Rules, Risks, and Reality - Janna Levit & Samantha Eby · 55 min · Episode 49Send us Fan Mail Architects Jana Levitt (LGA Architectural Partners) and Sam Eby (executive director of the not-for-profit Rehousing) discuss helping “citizen developers”…
- (48) What the CMHC 26-28 Outlook Means for GTA Developers - Jordan Nanowski · 53 min · Episode 48Send us Fan Mail 2026-2028 GTA Market Outlook According to CMHC - Jordan Nanowski 00:00 Welcome + CMHC Forecast Episode Setup (2026–2028 Focus) 01:38 Meet Jordan Nanowski: CMHC’s…
- (47) Approved vs. Buildable: The Gap Breaking Toronto’s Affordable Housing Pipeline - Andrea Adams of St. Clare's & Mark Richardson of HousingNowTO · 1 h 5 min · Episode 47Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the Real Estate Development Insights podcast, Payam welcomes Andrea Adams and Mark Richardson. Andrea is the Executive Director at St…
- (46) Affordable Housing Investment Fund: A Solution to the Housing Gap - Mwarigha M.S. - Wood Green · 59 min · Episode 46Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we dive into the world of affordable housing with Mwarigha, Vice President of Housing Growth Development and Asset Sustainability at Woodgreen…
- (45) How To Think About Risk, Leverage, And Timing In Real Estate Development - Mazyar Mortazavi - TAS Impact · 51 min · Episode 45Send us Fan Mail In this insightful episode, Payam sit down with Mazyar Mortazavi, the President and CEO of TAS, a Toronto-based real estate company. Mazyar shares his inspiring…
