THE RHYTHM OF RETAIL
THE RHYTHM OF RETAIL
SPANIERGROUP
Rob Spanier
President, Spanier Group
Member of the Advisory Board, Governance Committee, and Placemaking Product Council
Urban Land Institute (ULI) Toronto District Council
Co-Founder, Skateez Inc.
A seasoned real estate professional specialised in mixed-use development and place-making. With two decades of hands-on experience, Rob has brought to life more than 80 legacy projects throughout North America, Europe and the Caribbean.
Rob is an international real estate development advisor dedicated to creating innovative, next-generation destinations and places, with expertise in creating thriving communities with uniquely curated specialty retail experiences. By playing an integral role on multi-disciplinary project teams, Rob commits his extensive knowledge in large-scale mixed-use development, master planning, specialty leasing, large-scale project management and real estate deal making in order to create vibrant and prosperous communities.
Rob has spent two decades working in the real estate sector on complex retail and mixed-use development projects, including 11 years as a Partner & Principal at Live Work Learn Play Inc. where he opened and led the Toronto operations and helped develop numerous large and small-scale mixed-use destinations. Prior to that , Rob spent 5 years at Intrawest Corporation, where he led an international leasing team that created iconic destination resort towns worldwide. Most notably, Rob has been involved in helping to develop: the 147-acre mixed-use development on Mississauga’s waterfront (“Lakeview Village”), the 680-acre parcel of land at Woodbine Racetrack (“Woodbine Districts”) in Toronto, the 2015 PanAm Games Athletes Village (“Canary District”), the redevelopment of the Toronto Waterfront, the development of the Florida State University’s (“College Town”) in Tallahassee Florida, the development of Sandestin Golf & Beach Resort (“Village of Baytowne Wharf”) in Destin Florida, as well as the Presidio Trust in San Francisco, California.
Passionate about place-making and developing great places, Rob has been actively involved with the Urban Land Institute (“ULI”) since 2007. He currently sits as a Member of both the Advisory Board and Governance Committee for ULI’s Toronto District Council (2018-2022) and continues to passionately grow ULI in Canada and globally. Rob holds an Interdisciplinary Bachelor of Arts Degree in Industrial Relations with a minor in Economics from McGill University and grew up in Montreal, Quebec.
Meghan Wong
Vice President, Spanier Group
Member of the Women’s Leadership Committee, Urban Land Institute (ULI) Toronto District Council
Member of the Land & Build Committee of the Board of Directors, Habitat for Humanity GTA
An experienced land use planning and real estate professional specialized in integrating community development and higher order transportation. With over 12 years’ of experience, Meghan has led the implementation of a variety of planning and real estate projects across Alberta and Ontario vastly ranging in scale, value and size. Meghan’s first hand experience working with a range of private and public sector entities positions her uniquely to navigate challenging, complex and multi-stakeholder initiatives.
Most recently, Meghan led a development team at Metrolinx focused on transit oriented projects and played an integral role in developing a program to facilitate public-private real estate development partnerships. She has extensive first hand knowledge of managing complex large-scale projects, including unique land transactions, commercial deal terms and significant technical considerations. Meghan also led the property acquisition portfolio for a large new transit project in the GTA, including a range of real property interests and managing the expropriation process, and supported the management of Metrolinx’s real estate portfolio. Most notably, she led all new GO station and light rail transit (LRT) development projects, including the new planned Woodbine GO Station which is part of a 600+ acre redevelopment site within the city of Toronto.
Prior to joining Metrolinx, Meghan was a private land use planning consultant leading the municipal planning approvals and permitting process for private mixed-use and residential developments on behalf of real estate developers. She has a wide variety of experience in municipal and policy planning, subdivision and conceptual design, the preparation of planning applications, infill and downtown revitalization, regeneration strategies, liaising with public and private sector clients, and public consultation. Some of her earlier projects include the South of Devon Area Structure Plan, Edgewater Village Development, Lloydminster Municipal Development Plan, City of Leduc Land Use Bylaw, and the Clairmont Heights Area Structure Plan.
With a personal interest in tackling some of the challenges facing the real estate development industry, Meghan has been actively involved with the Urban Land Institute (ULI) since 2017. She is a past Co-Chair and current member of the Women’s Leadership Committee (WLI), and a previous member of the Young Leaders Americas Committee. Meghan was recently asked to sit on the Land & Build Committee of the Habitat for Humanity GTA Board, to serve as an advisor on tackling the continuing housing crisis and navigating complex partnerships with real estate developers. Meghan is a regular speaker on transit oriented development, public private partnerships as well as mentorship and career growth.
Meghan holds a Bachelor of Arts (Geography and Political Science) from McMaster University, a Diploma in GIS and Urban Planning from Fanshawe College, and a Master of Science (Planning, Real Estate and Regeneration) from the University of Glasgow. Meghan grew up in Ontario, has lived in Alberta and Scotland, and is truly motivated to contribute to creating better and more inclusive and connected places for everyone.
Karla Alag
Development Manager, Spanier Group
Karla is a graduate of the Urban and Regional Planning program from the Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University).
Prior to joining Spanier Group, Karla has worked for the Toronto Catholic District School Board as the Development and Analysis Officer in the Planning and Development Services Department. She has also worked for the Ryerson Development and Real Estate Department as a Planning Intern where she was involved in the 2020 Campus Master Plan process, specifically in the Bond Street redevelopment, and campus transportation efforts.
Karla is keen on design and connectivity of spaces, both indoor and outdoor, and believes that design ties in with how people experience places.
Riley Malthaner
Development Manager, Spanier Group
Member, OPPI
Riley is a graduate of Toronto Metropolitan University’s Master of Planning, Urban Development Program where she focused on issues relating to housing affordability. Specifically, Riley’s academic work examined the implications of Inclusionary Zoning and Laneway Suite policies across the City of Toronto. Additionally, while completing her graduate studies, Riley participated in the ULI Hines Competition where she joined a multidisciplinary team to devise a development program for a large-scale site in Kansas City. Riley also holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography with a Certificate in Urban and Regional Planning from Queen’s University and is currently a Candidate OPPI member.
Prior to joining Spanier Group, Riley worked for N. Barry Lyon Consultants as a Planner and Real Estate Analyst where she worked on various land use analyses and market studies across Ontario and all real estate sectors, analyzed the impact of transit investment on housing, and worked to develop affordable housing strategies for a range of clients. Riley also worked as an Intern for Evergreen Canada where she supported the Housing Supply Challenge Support Program under CMHC’s Affordable Housing Supply Challenge.
Shanon Govindan
Development Analyst, Spanier Group
Shanon is a graduate from the Urban and Regional Planning program at the University of South Australia. Whilst undertaking an honours program Shanon completed a thesis investigating the attributing factors for cyclist route selection through the Adelaide CBD.
Prior to joining the Spanier Group, Shanon was working in Australia at the City of Playford as a Planning Officer and Analyst. He has been involved in a range of development assessments including land division, commercial and residential with the mindset to improve the communities’ amenities. Shanon has also been involved in the development of Riverlea in South Australia a master planned community that will deliver 12,500 homes on the fringe of Adelaide.
Shanon has a keen interest in delivering outcomes that cultivate resilient communities through impactful urban design techniques.
