INTERESTING READS ON COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT IN CALGARY:

Below are links to two well written articles by Mario Toneguzzi from the Calgary Herald on June 8, 2012  and September 19, 2012 discussing commercial real estate investment in Calgary.

Toneguzzi notes that “when it comes to commercial real estate investment options, no city tops Calgary, according to a new international study.”

Calgary leads in commercial real estate investment options.

Commercial real estate contributes more than $63 billion to Canadian economy: Support 340, 000 jobs in the country.

Frank Lonardelli, President of Arlington Street Investments, named the company in tribute to the address where he and his family grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

From an early age Frank learnt to deal with and overcome adversity. With some inspiring advice from one of his teachers, Frank quickly put himself on a track to success. He accepted a scholarship to the University of Winnipeg, where he graduated with a major in Political Science. He also completed the Entrepreneurial Masters Program on the campus of MIT and sits on several public and private advisory Boards and Boards of Directors.

Frank has proven through his dedication and perseverance that anything is possible. In fact, the unique qualities that make Frank a highly regarded and well-respected figure in his community are the same qualities you will find at the core of our company. He provides the leadership and vision of the Corporation as it scales to become “Best of Class.” Frank strives to provide opportunities and mentorship to peers, youth and investors to help them achieve their own goals and ambitions.

In the News

Frank Lonardelli in the news:

Frank Lonardelli’s “Thinking Small Can Be a Big Idea” article in the Calgary Herald
Calgary Herald, October 25, 2012

Visit: http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/Thinking+small+idea/7443634/story.html

Arlington Street Investment’s “Arlington back in building business”
Calgary Herald, January 12, 2010

http://www2.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/calgarybusiness/story.html?id=a7fa0c1a-7604-4859-81f6-741412475395

Frank Lonardelli in the Winnipeg Free Press, “He wanted to give back to others in a way that others gave to him”.
Winnipeg Free Press, June 26, 2009

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/he-wants-to-help-others-the-way-others-helped-him-49080541.html

Risky Business: Weigh dangers before making exempt market real estate investment
Winnipeg Free Press, March 20, 2010

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/finance/risky-business-88717052.html

Founded by Frank Lonardelli, Arlington Street Investments is a business focused on building relationships, strengthening partnerships, and enhancing value. Our business is client driven; our relationships, based on creating wealth. We align our interests with those of our investment partners and follow through on every single commitment. SOAR captures the balance within our organization — balancing freedom with responsibility, value with profit, and individuality with teamwork.

Supportive

Objective

Accountable

Responsive

Our team is committed to excellence through education and communication. We focus on Investment Partners first and foremost with an unlimited ambition toward our corporate goals.

Our Mission Statement:

Is a reflection of becoming “best of class” in everything that we do. We align ourselves with top level professionals who have a wealth of expertise in each of their respective fields to ensure that we achieve our corporate goal of becoming…

Our approach:

We take a disciplined approach to investing by implementing our core investment principles.

“Your Destination For High Quality Real Estate Investments”

The below is a paper from a student acquaintance. It is in no relation to Frank Lonardelli’s views.

What immediate impact has globalization had upon the social class hierarchies of many NIC and LAW countries? How would this affect the short-term marketing strategies of global marketers?

Globalizations most apparent effect has been in widening the income divide between the most wealthy and most poor and the exploitation of the working class. Creating new or bigger class categories, most notably a bourgeoning middle class and working class, globalization has had many negative consequences but also some positive ones as well.  The negative aspect can be immediately seen in the destruction of tribal lifestyles and cultural genocide (creolization) seen in the migration of peoples from farmlands in to city slums. Through globalization, companies such a Nike or Kmart (Kathy Gifford’s label) have utilized Latin America and South East Asia, most notably Costa Rica and the NIC Indonesia as a base for exploiting the new working class (child and near slave labour).

Globalization has helped destroy social values of once sophisticated rural cultures and has created the decay societies through drug addiction and trafficking, prostitution (Thailand has become a playground for South East Asian business men), and scavenging (the landfills like those of many Bangladeshi or Indian cities is home to the most impoverished citizens of the newly industrialized world).  Though the creation of these new social infrastructures is unquestionably negative they are consequences of the globalization trend. Fortunately there are also many positive aspects; opportunities for mass marketing are now possible because of mass consumption. Globalization has led to the buildup of large urban areas in the NIC. The outsourcing of many Western factories to Mexico, India, and Indonesia has turned these former LAW countries into current NIC. These countries recently saw the buildup of city centres and urban living as a result of the promises of a better or at least more exciting life. Young men and women moved to these factories in an attempt to boost their overall quality of life and family income (the goal of upward mobility).

Not just child labour factories sprung up in S.E. Asia and Latin America but technical companies also outsource more of their routine, non-innovative positions as well. India especially has gained from technical outsourcing as it has a relatively literate and educated population (the impetuous for a growing middle class). In Mexico, for example, 3 in 10 households are classified as middle class while 58 percent of Mexico City’s households are given the same classification.

Globalization has created a buildup of slums around NIC and LAW cities which has allowed better classification and study of these new consumer groups. Instead of fool-hardy marketing attempts of sending a message across 1000s of square kilometers, marketers may now focus on millions of people within a few square kilometers. It is these great pools of low cost labour that has created the work force that fuels the new middle classes of these cities.