Royalmount is not just "doing fine" it is accelerating. In this episode Axel Monsaingeon sits down with Michael Stroll, Partner at Carbonleo and SVP Leasing, to break down what actually drives a successful mixed use destination in Montreal. They explore how consumer habits are changed, why occupancy momentum matters more than first month headlines, and how the right tenant mix, events, and access strategy can reposition an asset quickly. You will hear the measurable results behind the Royalmount lease up, the expansion logic for phase two retail, why a hotel on site makes sense, and how Class A office demand is being reshaped by commute patterns and lifestyle convenience. If you work in development, leasing, investment, or brokerage, this conversation is a masterclass in building durable demand through placemaking and long term vision.

Topics & Timestamps

🔹 What Carbonleo is and why they build disruptive projects (00:01:49)

🏗️ Quartier DIX30 repositioning: occupancy, tenant mix, and value creation (00:04:03)

🚆 Why residential is the missing piece and how REM access changes everything (00:05:28)

🧠 Master plan thinking: DIX30 vs Royalmount and why cohesion matters (00:07:20)

📈 Royalmount performance story: sales growth, traffic, and lease up from 36% to 90% (00:09:16)

🎉 Events and social strategy: building habit and destination energy (00:12:02)

🛍️ Phase two retail expansion: what is missing and how growth gets planned (00:13:21)

🏨 Hotel opportunity: brand selection, operator strategy, and why the site wins (00:15:23)

🏢 Office demand shift: Class A, deal terms, and the commute advantage vs downtown (00:16:30)

💎 Luxury perception vs reality: why the project is more accessible than people think (00:21:12)

🏘️ Residential rezoning: density, downsizers, and solving a real market gap (00:23:16)

🔗 Connect with Michael Stroll
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-stroll-60701499/?originalSubdomain=ca
🏢 CARBONLEO: https://www.carbonleo.com/executive_team/michael-stroll/?lang=en

👤 Follow Axel Monsaingeon
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/axel-monsaingeon-42577b28/
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/axelmonsaingeon

🌐 Explore more resources
📊 Market guides, data, and advertising opportunities: https://www.e5pace.com/

How do you go from being a tax lawyer to building a $1.2 billion commercial real estate portfolio? In this episode of the Espace Montréal Podcast, Axel Monsaingeon sits down with Michel Léonard, President & CEO of BTB REIT, to unpack the real story behind one of Québec's most successful publicly traded real estate investment trusts. Michel shares the risks, doubts, and hard lessons behind launching a REIT before most people even knew what one was — including capital raising, surviving the 2008 financial crisis, navigating COVID, and maintaining discipline in volatile markets.

This conversation is a masterclass in long-term thinking, capital structure, portfolio management, and real-world REIT economics — essential listening for investors, developers, brokers, and anyone serious about commercial real estate.

Topics & Timestamps

👋 Introduction & guest overview (00:01:03)
⚖️ From lawyer to real estate (00:01:49)
🏗️ Launching one of Québec's first REITs (00:06:07)
💰 Raising capital & first acquisitions (00:09:58)
📉 Surviving the 2008 financial crisis (00:14:19)
📊 How REIT distributions really work (00:19:22)
🏢 Building a $1.2B diversified portfolio (00:21:54)
📐 Discipline, cap rates & strategy (00:23:36)
🔄 Selling assets & portfolio focus (00:27:50)
🔮 The future of office, retail & industrial (00:29:39)
👏 Final lessons & closing thoughts (00:32:08)

🔗 Connect with Michel Léonard
💼 LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/michel-l%C3%A9onard-40926532/
🏢 BTB REIT: https://www.btbreit.com/

👤 Follow Axel Monsaingeon
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/axel-monsaingeon-42577b28/
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/axelmonsaingeon

🌐 Explore more resources
📊 Market guides, data, and advertising opportunities: https://www.e5pace.com/

Quebec's commercial real estate market has changed fast, and the old "local only" playbook does not hold up anymore. Louis Bergeron, partner at HPDG, joins Axel Monsaingeon to unpack what appraisers are seeing before the headlines: how developers now chase opportunities across the province, why 2024 felt frozen, and what shifted in 2025 to bring buyers and sellers closer together. Louis also shares the real story behind PDG's roots coming out of Desjardins, how the firm grew through acquisitions and mergers, and why a merger has to be "1 + 1 = 3" or it is not worth doing. They dig into PDG's full-service model from valuation and property management to tax appeals, litigation support, and expropriation tied to major projects like the REM and the Blue Line extension. Louis closes with what PDG is building for 2026, including a refreshed brand and a bigger push to share market insights, plus why comparing cap rates is often harder than people think.

Topics & Timestamps

🗺️ The market is not local anymore: developers go wherever opportunity is (00:00:00)

🧬 HPDG's "DNA": staying close to clients from market study to asset management (00:01:13)

🏦 Origin story: Desjardins, the 90s crash, and how HPDG was formed (00:02:06)

📈 Growth strategy: the 2018 merger and expansion through acquisitions (00:04:02)

🏢 How property management started: from crisis cycles to condo management (00:06:25)

🧾 Beyond financing valuations: tax appeal work and investor support A to Z (00:08:18)

⚖️ Litigation support and expropriation: REM and Blue Line context (00:09:35)

🧠 Expropriation valuation is different and the law has changed (00:10:58)

🚀 Entrepreneurship is not linear: expanding services across Quebec (00:11:41)

🤝 Merger mantra: "1 + 1 has to equal 3", and why they ended a merger (00:12:55)

📊 What changed in 2025: market rebound and buyer-seller gap narrowing (00:16:40)

🏙️ Where deals are happening: multi, office, industrial shifting behavior (00:17:30)

🏗️ Office market reality: towers, notable deals, and transactions not announced yet (00:18:38)

🔄 2026 plans: rebrand + sharing more market insights and data (00:20:59)

🍎🍎 Cap rates "apples to apples" problem and confidentiality constraints (00:23:26)

🌐 Best way to contact HPDG: website and LinkedIn (00:24:17)

🔗 Connect with Louis Bergeron
💼 LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/louis-bergeron/
🏢 Avison Young: https://www.hpdg.ca/

👤 Follow Axel Monsaingeon
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/axel-monsaingeon-42577b28/
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/axelmonsaingeon

🌐 Explore more resources
📊 Market guides, data, and advertising opportunities: https://www.e5pace.com/