First Capital fosters future real estate leaders

When Spence Goodwin began as an intern at First Capital REIT, he was just finishing his second year of university. He remembers looking up to the people working in his role now. “I never imagined I’d be here six years later,” says Goodwin, now a leasing manager.

A Toronto-based commercial real estate company, First Capital owns, operates and develops open-air centres that are anchored by grocery stores in neighbourhoods in key markets across Canada.

“At First Capital, we believe if you put your people and your customers first, manage your property assets proactively, and exercise disciplined financial management – these are the key ingredients for success,” says Neil Downey, executive vice-president enterprise strategies and chief financial officer.

Downey describes First Capital as a friendly and collaborative place to work where new ideas are encouraged. He feels a unique aspect of the company’s culture is the internship program.

“We received nearly 6,000 applications in 2024 for a program where we can typically take on 10 to 18 interns,” says Downey. The program follows a diverse group of students placed in different areas of the company through their university education.

Downey is one of two executive leaders for the capstone projects – real-world assignments where teams of interns come up with a strategy to solve a company challenge. “My role is as a coach, mentor and subject matter expert,” he says.

Goodwin remembers a capstone project in which he and his team focused on a specific development property. “We looked at what tenants we might bring in – something new and different, such as emerging brands, technologies and services to elevate the customer experience,” he says.

Each capstone project team comes up with a 20-minute presentation for the executive leadership team. “We tell our interns the presentation is in a low-risk environment,” says Downey. He coaches the interns through a dry run of the presentation. Then, the big day is an interactive session with questions coming from executives and the other teams.

“One of the intangibles of the teamwork is the relationship-building and bonding,” says Downey. “In Canadian business, it seems the circles are small and I still run across people I worked with 30 years ago.”

Downey says First Capital endeavours to promote from within. It starts from the beginning when an intern transitions to permanent employment.

Goodwin joined the internship program in 2018 and became an employee in 2021. “I was brought on full-time as a coordinator in Toronto,” he says. A year later, he was offered an opportunity to become a leasing manager in Montréal.

Goodwin’s colleagues have been supportive, especially when he moved to a new city and new position. “Across the board, people are helpful, collaborative and fun to work with – company-wide.”

All of Goodwin’s managers have offered him mentorship, he adds. “They’ve been great at showing how they approach different situations and how they go about managing their day-to-day responsibilities.”

Goodwin feels he’s been given trust through opportunities to grow and take on more. “I still feel that way,” he says. “I know I have support in the organization but I have been given a certain amount of autonomy in the way I work.

“When I started as a full-time employee at First Capital, my manager gave me some files and said, ‘My door is open,”’ says Goodwin. “I knew I had support, but he made me feel I was up to the task.”

This article appeared in the magazine announcing this year's Greater Toronto’s Top Employers winners, published December 3, 2024 in The Globe and Mail. This article was prepared with the financial support of the employer, which reviewed but did not write its contents.