Reina?s detail-oriented design process aims to create a new model for the real estate industry When she saw an article in Toronto Life magazine last year titled ?The Kings of Toronto Real Estate,? Taya Cook, director of development at Urban Capital, couldn?t help but notice the focus on 20 Canadian condo titans?all of whom were men.
It was a striking visual representation of her experiences in a male-dominated field. ?Where are the queens"? she wondered.
?It was shocking to see it laid out that way, with all men and no women,? she tells Curbed. ?I know there are so many women involved in real estate development in Toronto, and we?re often not at the forefront of projects, in leadership positions, or visualized, and I think because of that, a lot of women may not enter into the industry.? Her answer is Reina (Spanish for ?queen?), a new real estate project led by a team of 15 women. Reina is spearheaded by Cook and Sherry Larjani, managing partner at Spotlight Development, the first person Cook reached out to after reading the Toronto Life article. Women will fill every leadership role on the project, from mechanical engineer to architect to sales lead.
?There aren?t many entrepreneurial women coming into the industry on their own,? says Larjani. ?No one took me seriously until I bought my first piece of land. We need to give women positive role models and prove that a career in development is a viable path. It?s incumbent upon all of us to change this narrativ...