Background

I have been in the construction and real estate industry for 15 years and during this time I have been involved in a variety of projects which has allowed me to gain a wide range of first hand experience. As a result, I have knowledge across many areas of development from feasibility, municipal legislation and law, planning, construction management and costing, design development, and owning and managing rental units. I continue to take on personal projects because I believe in learning from first hand experiences and I try to explore, adjust, and innovate how I approach my own projects each time. I am always keen to learn, grow, and take on new challenges personally along with clients.

In 2020 following the outbreak of COVID-19, I began adjusting how 2B Developments focused on the development of projects by implementing minimum requirements for projects that we built which included accessible and affordable housing. To further my knowledge and advocacy, I sat on the Affordable Housing Committee that the Town of Smiths Falls created in early 2021 as vice-chair. On the committee, I was able to engaged with multiple stakeholders over the rural housing crisis, and implemented real change at the municipal level through various recommendations to Council. I continue to keep engaged with local organizations within Lanark County, as well as other Eastern Ontario municipalities, and advocate for various municipal changes that will help create and preserve affordable housing units.

In addition to building developments, I have contributed my time and experience to several consultations that have taken place with respect to zoning and the community improvement plan in the Town of Smiths Falls and provided input and advice to other rural municipalities. I have taken part in larger County wide open forum discussions providing insight and recommendations that can help make the development process more efficient to benefit the end users ( the tenants) from a developer perspective. This has involved meeting with consultants hired by the Town, meeting with County wide stakeholders and representatives, speaking up in open forums, challenging the status quo, and advocating for redirection development fees towards affordability initiatives. I have also been a keynote speaker on municipal tools to accelerate the success of small scale developments, moderated discussions on private and public partnerships for housing development, and am active in the advocacy on affordable housing for both policy and funding. My work with Cahdco has also allowed me to speak on larger platforms and join other advocates and organizations on speaking about the issues that are being faced in the development of affordable housing. I am currently focusing my time and energy on advocating changes with the province of Ontario, and have started to work on similar initiatives in Atlantic Canada. I have successfully help organizations obtain funding through CMHC programs such as Seed and Co-Investment ( now Affordable Housing Fund), and am actively working on applications to these programs and the innovation stream. Similarly, I have been involved in the successful submission of applications to FCM and am currently working on a pilot program application that will explore using the treated water from a communal waste system to create reserve ponds that can be relied upon for farmers in droughts or to extinguish fires.

I have helped create, and continue too, hundreds of affordable, accessible, and transition housing units throughout Ontario. Thousands more still need to be created, and I am committed to doing what I can to contribute to creating them.

2B Developments

I am the founder and executive director of 2B Developments. 2B works with a range clients on the development of real estate projects throughout Ontario and across Canada. 2B provides services non-profit, municipal, institutional, and for-profit organizations clients. 2B also works with and helps support nation wide project management and development corporations on large scale housing projects. 2B provides a wide range of services which include:

• Preliminary feasibility analysis;

• Feasibility studies;

• Strategic development planning;

• Municipal consulting and workshops;

• Preliminary development design services;

• Development consulting;

• Project and construction management services;

• Creating, piloting, and implementing housing solution programs

2B is focused on creating affordable housing and working with our clients to build these projects, while ensuring that they are financially viable and have positive community impacts, are our top priority. Our proven track record in delivering quality services and projects has earned the trust from our clients and their word-of-mouth referrals which our business is solely based on.

Growing up in Perth ON and staying connected to rural municipalities throughout my entire life has created the deep understanding that 2B has on the development of housing in rural municipalities and our reputation within the rural municipal space.

I have utilized the platform that 2B has created to be a voice in advocating for necessary policy change at the local municipal level, provincial, and federal level to break down the barriers that deter, stall, and impact housing. 2B is currently working on a nation wide program and initiative with municipal and non-profit partners that will tackle rural servicing that will create more housing and economic growth in rural communities.

CAHDCO / CCOC

In 2023, after some consideration I decided to add to my plate a new challenge and became the Director of Real Estate Development for CAHDCO/ CCOC. I wanted to further deepen my knowledge in affordable housing development and with the opportunity to work with Ottawa’s largest tenant-landlord led non-profit holder of housing was an opportunity I could not pass. While I soaked in the knowledge and experience of those at Cahdco and CCOC, I also brought my many years of first hand experience in building and developing real estate to the team. In this role I helped with provide the education and professional development for the team of project managers and project coordinators to create a foundation of knowledge that would allow their team to better support their clients and projects. In this role I earned a non-official title , “Coach Blair”, and my teaching sessions were called the “Coach Blair “ series.

While at Cahdco, I was able to work with a number of non-profit organizations and helped bring their projects to a reality. My primary role was to work with organizations through feasibility and to set them up for success going into development design and eventually construction. Under my other non-official title “Dream Crusher”, I would meet with organizations, understand all their objectives, and help them understand realistic approaches that were financially viable, matched their experience and capacity, and ultimately would set them up for success.

While I was only at Cahdco for a year, it felt like I had been there for several. Leaving Cahdco to prioritize my time and focus on 2B Developments and new initiatives was not an easy decision, but ultimately one I had to make. I am extremely grateful for each day I worked with the entire team.