Community Impact Real Estate - Open for Business

Community Impact Real Estate (CIRE) has officially opened its doors. As a commercial lease and property management social enterprise, CIRE contributes to the collective efforts of building an inclusive, local serving economy, by using the space in its portfolio to provide affordable goods, services, social support and employment opportunities for low income residents.

Our launch event was held on October 11, 2018 at the 11 storey Anjok building located at 298 E Hastings.

Representatives from two social enterprises that are portfolio subtenants - Shelley Bolton, Senior Manager of Social Enterprise, PHS Community Services Society, East Van Roasters, and Matthew Smedley, Executive Director & CEO of Mission Possible - addressed the diverse crowd of attendees with a message about their organization’s mission, the community impact generated by their respective organizations and the importance of paying below market rent in helping them succeed.  

CIRE’s launch event was a fantastic opportunity for representatives from local community organizations, portfolio subtenants, BC Housing and others to get to know each other, engage in lively conversations and join in the celebration while enjoying delicious treats from local social enterprises like HAVE Café, East Van Roasters and Potluck café.

Our launch also included a Social Enterprise Showcase that provided an opportunity for a select group of social enterprise subtenants to showcase their goods and services. Showcase participants included  Enterprise Women Making Art (EWMA), Gallery Gachet and Exchange Inner City.

Special thanks go out to BC Housing for their event support; HAVE Café, East Van Roasters and Potluck Cafe, for taking such good care of all of our guests and to those behind the scenes who helped organised and make this event possible.