Watershed acquires, partners on, repositions, and operates commercial and industrial real estate across Canada. Value-add assets, property/business vend-ins, structured deals, and a public platform built for long-term ownership.
There is a significant and largely unclaimed opportunity in Canadian commercial and industrial real estate. Watershed was built to pursue it.
New construction is landing at $250 to $400 per square foot or more. Quality existing commercial and industrial product can still be acquired for $70 to $170. That gap is structural, not temporary. REIT and institutional capital focuses on stabilized, large-scale assets — the middle market is underserved, undercapitalized, and full of properties that can be acquired below replacement cost, repositioned to institutional quality, and held for compounding income and long-term growth.
Commercial and industrial leases signed five to ten years ago at $5 to $10 per square foot NNN are now renewing at $8 to $18 or more. That’s meaningful organic income growth before any repositioning work begins.
Over the next decade, more than $2 trillion in Canadian small and medium business assets will change hands. 76% of those owners have no formal succession plan.
For most, the options are narrow: sell once, pay the tax, and walk away from the upside you spent 20 years building, or hold forever and hand the problem to someone else.
Watershed is building a third option. Contribute your asset to a growing public platform. Receive publicly traded shares. Defer the tax event. Stay invested in a national portfolio instead of exiting it.
These aren’t separate businesses. The same operator experience, broker network, and deal discipline that sources value-add acquisitions below replacement cost is what allows us to underwrite vend-ins, structure leasebacks, and build to suit for tenants who have already committed. It’s one platform with two streams of proprietary deal flow, and a growing portfolio of assets institutional capital doesn’t bother with.
Watershed creates value three ways: 1) for investors through share price appreciation as the portfolio scales; 2) for property owners through tax-deferred share consideration, strategic succession options, and ongoing upside rather than a one-time sale; and 3) for business partners through structured access to space, capital, and a growing platform. We make sure everyone at the table has a reason to stay.
The Watershed team brings together operators, developers, and capital markets professionals with direct experience in exactly what this platform does: acquire, reposition, and list commercial and industrial real estate in Canada.
Former VP at Deloitte advising REITs and real estate companies across North America. Co-raised a $50M+ private equity real estate fund and built SNFLWR into an active development and asset management platform in the Okanagan. Background spans commercial brokerage, development, capital markets, and leasing. Founded Watershed to take that platform national.
Built Nexus Industrial REIT from a CPC qualifying transaction to $2B+ in total asset value. Previously CEO of TransGlobe Apartment REIT. He has executed this exact path before and is bringing that experience directly to Watershed’s TSXV qualifying transaction.
Former CFO of Newalta (TSX) and Precision Drilling (TSX), with $1B+ raised across public equity and debt markets. Senior finance roles spanning major Canadian developers and hospitality operators over three decades. He brings institutional-grade financial infrastructure to an emerging public platform.
Co-owner of the Seattle Kraken (NHL) and co-founder of Turtle Island Recycling, sold to GFL Environmental in a nine-figure transaction. Co-founded Edgefront REIT, which grew into Nexus Industrial REIT. Operator, investor, and builder with a track record across waste, real estate, and sports franchises.
Co-founder of TradeSpace, Canada’s largest co-warehousing network with 200,000+ sf and 230+ member businesses. Founded MINT Projects to bring construction management discipline to complex commercial and industrial builds. Over 20 years across construction, development, and real estate.
Career built at Mission Group and Lorval Developments, two of BC’s most active residential developers, leading interior design, pre-construction, and project management. Co-founding partner of SNFLWR Corporation. She oversees development execution across Watershed’s active project pipeline.
Watershed sources deals on and off market through deep broker relationships and direct owner outreach, alongside proactive marketing efforts. Our team are entrepreneurs and owner-operators – we speak the language of the people we buy from, at a business and asset level, not just a financial one.
We structure deals to de-risk before capital is committed. Friendly due diligence windows, milestone-gated closings, and creative terms let us pre-lease, feasibility-test, and build relationships before we close. Pre-construction rigour, competitive trades, and a drive for innovative construction solutions keep our cost basis sharp.
Watershed’s preferred partnership with TradeSpace gives the platform direct visibility into a 230+ member network of growing businesses actively using commercial and industrial space — a proprietary pipeline for build-to-suit mandates and lease-up that doesn’t exist on the open market.
Value should be created at an asset level first, and not by financial engineering to “make it work.”
The core of the platform. Acquire below replacement cost through broker relationships, direct owner outreach, and partner-protected structures — joint ventures, options, and rights of first refusal that provide access to assets before they reach the open market. Reposition to B+/A quality. Capture NOI growth and cap rate compression.
Capital committed only after tenants commit. Pre-leased before construction, milestone-gated through the build. Risk is defined before the spend begins, not projected after. Where ground-up isn’t the right fit, Watershed can also identify and acquire existing space on behalf of businesses, leasing it back on long-term NNN terms or structuring a partnership around the asset.
Owners contribute commercial assets to Watershed in exchange for publicly traded shares. Tax-deferred and estate-efficient. Proprietary deal flow that never reaches the open market, at terms that reflect the owner’s transition needs rather than a competitive auction.
Not tax or legal advice. Owners should obtain independent counsel.
Acquired vacant and neglected. Repositioned into a fully tenanted, income-producing asset with two additional buildings under development on surplus land.
As-Complete Appraised Value (all three buildings): $12.95M · Est. Stabilized NOI: ~$711K · Bldg 2: 100% Pre-Leased
This is the proof of concept. This is what the platform repeats.
Watershed enters markets where our team has direct presence and transaction history, or where a structural catalyst creates a clear acquisition thesis. Secondary and more rural markets are pursued through risk-adjusted structures, including joint ventures, options, and partial acquisitions, that protect the capital stack before it’s committed.
Okanagan Valley (Kelowna · Penticton · Vernon) · Calgary · Lethbridge · Edmonton · Whitehorse · Winnipeg · Prince George · Cape Breton Island
Watershed actively monitors oil & gas, AI/datacenter, infrastructure, and government announcements across Canadian markets. Where industrial and commercial land, available power, and team networks converge, we move.
Watershed is in formation and completing its TSXV Qualifying Transaction. Accredited investors are welcome to reach out directly. Participation in any financing is subject to applicable Canadian securities laws.
Investor InformationWhether you're considering a sale, a partnership, or simply exploring what your options look like, Watershed is worth a conversation. No pressure, no obligation.
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